The Tottenham Station Railway Disaster of 1860
mimimatthews.com
The Tottenham Station Railway Disaster of 1860
1–10 of 35 posts
Re: The Tottenham Station Railway Disaster of 1860
#2And the Railway Department report into the incident, with obviously many more details : http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BoT_TottenhamFeb1...
Re: The Tottenham Station Railway Disaster of 1860
#3> “Great injury was done after the engine ran up the platform. The brickwork was swept away, and a large portion of a wall was thrown down; in fact, one carriage was thrown completely through the platform wall by the violence with which it was hurled over the line.”
> The Era, 26 February 1860.
It is amusing to read the writing styles of then with the now. The use of language in the Victorian era was a lot more poetic. While in many ways I do welcome the directness that modern articles have, I do also feel we've lost something in artistic merit.
Re: The Tottenham Station Railway Disaster of 1860
#4> “Great injury was done after the engine ran up the platform. The brickwork was swept away, and a large portion of a wall was thrown down; in fact, one carriage was thrown completely through the platform wall by the violence with which it was hurled over the line.” > The Era, 26 February 1860. It is amusing to read the writing styles of then with the now. The use of language in the Victorian era was a lot more poeti…
I agree. The obvious culprit is trendy educational methods - these days it's seen as more important to let children express their supposed individuality rather than inculcate a decent standard of literacy. Some would characterise this as a Daily Mail-esque viewpoint, but university professors complain about standards worsening in their annual intake of students, and I'm inclined to listen to those at the chalkface.
Re: The Tottenham Station Railway Disaster of 1860
#5> “Great injury was done after the engine ran up the platform. The brickwork was swept away, and a large portion of a wall was thrown down; in fact, one carriage was thrown completely through the platform wall by the violence with which it was hurled over the line.” > The Era, 26 February 1860. It is amusing to read the writing styles of then with the now. The use of language in the Victorian era was a lot more poeti…
I agree. The obvious culprit is trendy educational methods - these days it's seen as more important to let children express their supposed individuality rather than inculcate a decent standard of literacy. Some would characterise this as a Daily Mail-esque viewpoint, but university professors complain about standards worsening in their annual intake of students, and I'm inclined to listen to those at the chalkface.
> university professors complain about standards worsening in their annual intake of students
They've been doing that since the 11th Century[1] - if this were even vaguely true, your current average student intake would be somewhere around the level of planaria or possibly tardigrades. It's demonstrable rubbish.
[1] http://www.medievalists.net/2015/09/the-long-history-of-teac...
Re: The Tottenham Station Railway Disaster of 1860
#6> “Great injury was done after the engine ran up the platform. The brickwork was swept away, and a large portion of a wall was thrown down; in fact, one carriage was thrown completely through the platform wall by the violence with which it was hurled over the line.” > The Era, 26 February 1860. It is amusing to read the writing styles of then with the now. The use of language in the Victorian era was a lot more poeti…
I agree. The obvious culprit is trendy educational methods - these days it's seen as more important to let children express their supposed individuality rather than inculcate a decent standard of literacy. Some would characterise this as a Daily Mail-esque viewpoint, but university professors complain about standards worsening in their annual intake of students, and I'm inclined to listen to those at the chalkface.
How is expressing your individuality incompatible with good writing?
Re: The Tottenham Station Railway Disaster of 1860
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. The obvious culprit is trendy educational methods - these days it's seen as more important to let children express their supposed individuality rather than inculcate a decent standard of literacy. Some would characterise this as a Daily Mail-esque viewpoint, but university professors complain about standards worsening in their annual intake of students, and I'm inclined to listen to those at the chalkface.
> university professors complain about standards worsening in their annual intake of students They've been doing that since the 11th Century[1] - if this were even vaguely true, your current average student intake would be somewhere around the level of planaria or possibly tardigrades. It's demonstrable rubbish. [1] http://www.medievalists.net/2015/09/the-long-history-of-teac...
Ah yes, the well-worn 'people have always been complaining about things getting worse' rebuttal.. But your argument is flawed - just because it might not always have been true does not mean it is not true now. As I said, I'm inclined to believe those at the chalkface. Here's one reference I was able to find easily: https://www.bjupress.com/resources/articles/t2t/declining-li...
Re: The Tottenham Station Railway Disaster of 1860
#8> “Great injury was done after the engine ran up the platform. The brickwork was swept away, and a large portion of a wall was thrown down; in fact, one carriage was thrown completely through the platform wall by the violence with which it was hurled over the line.” > The Era, 26 February 1860. It is amusing to read the writing styles of then with the now. The use of language in the Victorian era was a lot more poeti…
Use of the passive voice gives it a different rhythm. Contemporary "best practice" is to avoid writing in passive voice.
What I find interesting is that using active voice for inanimate objects like brickwork and walls and carriages, seems a bit anthropomorphic or perhaps animistic. Sure, "the wall fell" but not by its own volition.
Yet, for me the passive voice in this passage bogs down a bit in the final phrasing as subordinate clauses convolute as multiple inanimates suffer external effects. But in the end, the use of passive voice allows "great injury" to be the subject of the first sentence and empowers the paragraph in a way that "The engine" as subject simply cannot.
Re: The Tottenham Station Railway Disaster of 1860
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. The obvious culprit is trendy educational methods - these days it's seen as more important to let children express their supposed individuality rather than inculcate a decent standard of literacy. Some would characterise this as a Daily Mail-esque viewpoint, but university professors complain about standards worsening in their annual intake of students, and I'm inclined to listen to those at the chalkface.
How is expressing your individuality incompatible with good writing?
a. are we really going to harm poor precious little Henry by making him rote learn grammar instead of expressing the minimal amount of individuality he might have by school age (we don't read books written by children because they don't have much interesting to say) b. by not giving children a proper grasp of language we are actually limiting their ability to express themselves, for God's sake
Re: The Tottenham Station Railway Disaster of 1860
#10> “Great injury was done after the engine ran up the platform. The brickwork was swept away, and a large portion of a wall was thrown down; in fact, one carriage was thrown completely through the platform wall by the violence with which it was hurled over the line.” > The Era, 26 February 1860. It is amusing to read the writing styles of then with the now. The use of language in the Victorian era was a lot more poeti…
I agree. The obvious culprit is trendy educational methods - these days it's seen as more important to let children express their supposed individuality rather than inculcate a decent standard of literacy. Some would characterise this as a Daily Mail-esque viewpoint, but university professors complain about standards worsening in their annual intake of students, and I'm inclined to listen to those at the chalkface.
Contemporary education eschews the use of passive voice. The passage would judged negatively in most contemporary classrooms in the English speaking world.