University of Lincoln

The University of Lincoln is a public research university in the city of Lincoln, England. The university has origins tracing back to 1861, and after gaining university status in 1992, was known as the University of Humberside until 1996 and the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside until 2001, when it adopted its present name.

Lincoln is one of two universities in the city, alongside Bishop Grosseteste University. Lincoln's main campus is adjacent to Brayford Pool, the site of urban regeneration in the city since the 1990s; further campuses are located in Riseholme and Holbeach.

The Independent described the university as "the best thing to happen to Lincoln since the Romans". Lincoln has rapidly moved up in the university rankings, having risen 60 places in 4 years. The Sunday Times newspaper, responsible for The Times Good University Guide, has described the university's progression as "the most dramatic transformation of a university in recent times". In 2012, the university ranked in the top 50 of The Guardian University Guide for the first time. and in 2016, it has been ranked among the top 40 English universities in the first major student guide by The Complete University

The Engine Shed

The Engine Shed is a music and entertainment venue at the University of Lincoln in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, and is operated by the University of Lincoln Students' Union. The venue comprises three areas: The Engine Shed, which is the main hall; The Platform, which is a smaller floor overlooking the main hall; and Tower Bar, which is a sports bar serving food and drink split over two floors.

History

It was opened in September 2006 and takes its name from the locomotive shed that used to lie in its current location, immediately adjacent to the railway line to Nottingham. The venue has a capacity of 1,500 in the main hall and approximately 800 in Tower Bars. The first live gig was Embrace on 18 September 2006. It has also staged careers fairs and hosts the University's freshers' fair. In Summer 2014 the University transferred the operation of The Engine Shed to the University of Lincoln Students' Union who continue to operate the venue to date.

Construction

The building was originally constructed in 1875 for the Great Northern Railway (GNR) as Shed 40A, with four railway tracks. It had been disused since 1964. Although the Brayford site had been derelict for many years, there had been vast regeneration plans for the site including a new theatre since the early 1970s, which were killed off by Lincoln City Council in the mid-1970s for being too financially extravagant. It was too far-fetched for the financially strapped 1970s.

The Engine

The Engine is a fictional device described in Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift in 1726. It is possibly the earliest known reference to a device in any way resembling a modern computer. It is a device that generates permutations of word sets. It is found at the Academy of Projectors in Lagado and is described thus by Swift:

Stanisław Lem in SUMMA Technologiae and McCorduck (2004) connect the machine with the Ars Magna of Ramon Llull (1275), a mechanical device for combining ideas to create new ones.

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Motive power depot

Motive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, or railway depot is a term given to places where usually locomotives are housed when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and replenishing water, lubricating oil and grease and, for steam engines, disposal of the ash. There are often workshops for day to day repairs and maintenance, although locomotive building and major overhauls are usually carried out in the locomotive works.

MPDs in Britain are now often known as traction maintenance depots.

German practice

The equivalent of such depots in German-speaking countries is the Bahnbetriebswerk or Bw which has similar functions, with major repairs and overhauls being carried out at Ausbesserungswerke. The number of these reduced drastically on the changeover from steam to diesel and electric traction and most modern Bw in Germany are specialised depots, often responsible for a single rail class.