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Old buffer stops. Not sure if to keep the main buffer beam black, white, red or a mix of red and white?
This a Lanarkshire Models buffer stop which I’ve widened with a coffee stirred to create a reasonable impression of a Belgian buffer stop.
Dhotrey/ Dhotre, is a small settlement (8,500ft ), amidst the forests of sub Himalayan Bengal within the buffer zone of Singalila National Park, belonging to Eastern Himalaya. Altogether 68 small huts, 300 religious villagers mostly Buddhists, a small monastery, a few terrace farming covering areas, a small market, and a small garden of medicinal plants are the assets of this place. Here, once, logs were collected by Forest Department with a 5km long ropeway. The village was founded at that time. The ropeway was demolished in mid '80s. Village economy became ruined. And then the entire village was gutted down by a killer fire on 9th February, 2008, that had destroyed 33 huts and a considerable portion of the forests. Now, the village has been rebuilt with the help of Forest Department and many well-wishers. At present trekkers and nature lovers can stay at Dhotrey, in the village huts or in the trekker's huts, the total capacity being 40. The huts can be booked from the DGHC counter in Calcutta, New Delhi, Siliguri or Darjeeling. Electricity is not provided here, because it is within the National Park, but solar power is provided occasionally.
Car, jeep and bus services are available regularly from Darjeeling, Sukhiapokhri and NJP via Manebhanjang. Located 11 kms from Darjeeling, Dhotrey offers a wonderful trek to Tonglu(7km) through an exquisite forest trail thus letting you avoid conventional trek from Manebhanjang. One can enjoy a majestic view of Kanchendzonga range throughout the trekking rout from Dhotrey to Tonglu on a clear sunny day. (wikimapia.org/9874553/DHOTRE-the-forest-village)
The route remains closed from June to September.The best time to visit is between mid-September and December and between March and early April, when the rhododendrons and magnolias bloom, turning the forest a riot of colours. It is best to hire a guide for the four-hour trek to Tonglu.
The park is a birder’s delight. Rare and exotic species like the scarlet minivet, kalij pheasant, blood pheasant, satyr tragopan, parrotbills, and fire-tailed myzornis can be spotted here.
There are not many carnivores and snakes in the national park, making it a popular family camping destination. The mammals that can be seen are red panda, leopard cat, yellow-throated marten, barking deer, wild boar, pangolin and the pika.
According to forest officials, there are more than 600 varieties of orchids in the forest, which explains the heady fragrance that hangs in the air.
But to my experience, this pristine forest is a treasure of macro flora including exotic growths of lichens. I was wondered by the colors, shapes and unforgettable beauty of those tiny plants at the forest floors. It evoked a deep sense of reverence and gratitude towards nature. Nothing is too small or too big. Every element of nature has its fair share of responsibility in the endless showcase of variety towards holistic beautification of mother nature. Trekkers usually miss them because they always long for the huge trees, canopies and after all the majestic Kanchendzonga. I thought I will not miss none of them as far as permissible. It was a tiring session of macrophotography on my way from Dhotrey to Tonglu. I share you a few of them. I guess, you will like it......!!
Source: (www.telegraphindia.com/1120415/jsp/calcutta/story_1537473...)
Took these last weekend, still not sure about them though?
Supposed to be more prototypical by fitting onto the track which they do well.....no strength if you use them as a stop though!
I've seen few like this, the majority appear to have a vertical leg running up to the apex, which I will try next as it will also allow the cross beam buffer stop to be positioned onto those better
DRS's 37069 works hard uphill at Brockham, Surrey, working the 15th 'Buffer Puffer' rail tour on its High Wycombe to Redhill leg.
Two Tone green liveried class 25 locomotive 25322 'Tamworth Castle' (25912, D7672) is receiving some cosmetic attention before backing onto its last train "The Rat Requiem" railtour to Leeds, and in doing so bringing to an end the reign of the class on British Rail, they went by the name 'rats' but they were also known as Sulzer Type 2, In total 327 locomotives were built between 1961 and 1967, at Derby, Darlington and at Beyer Peacock in Gorton.
New to Toton as D7672 on 25/2/67 Now Preserved
30th March 1991
Looking resplendent with red buffer beams, silver buffers,headboard and the correctly displayed two white discs for a class 1 train, 40079 returns to South Wales with the 18.15 Paignton - Swansea return 'Devon Belle' railtour on the 16th September 1984, seen here at Newton Abbot. The loco worked down from Newport that morning having taken over from a 37. At the time this was one of twenty five remaining class 40s. It was withdrawn on 21st January 1985 and cut up within a month.
Seen facing south on Bury yard 45407 and its beautifull buffer. Something a little different from me.
Most buffer cars on hazmat unit trains are older airslide hoppers, but this grain hopper managed to get drafted into that service. Built 4/75 for the Santa Fe as ATSF 315271, it still looks pretty darn good in its original paint.
BNSF C113 LO #808265
Muir, MT
August 28th, 2021
Passengers pour from 2C62, the 1418 Norwich - Great Yarmouth, as it stands at its destination on 16 July 2016. 37422 is nearest camera with 37405 at the buffers.
This is why I wanted to go on this tour, a trip down the freight only branch to the old refinery and container sites on the peninsular.
I have been down on at least two occasions to snap tours on this line, and now it was my turn.
Sadly, due to a bridge being inspected at Numhead and now no loco-hauled trains can go over it, this meant that the morning visit to Grain was now late in the afternoon, just as the sun was setting.
Not much to see there now, and the proposed trip beyond this point was apparently cancelled as the track beyond was found to be in too bad condition. So, this is as far as we went, before reversing and going back towards London as darkness fell.
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The Hundred of Hoo Railway is a railway line in Kent, England, following the North Kent Line from Gravesend before diverging at Hoo Junction near Shorne Marshes and continuing in an easterly direction across the Hoo Peninsula, passing near the villages of Cooling, High Halstow, Cliffe and Stoke before reaching the Isle of Grain and the container port on its eastern tip, Thamesport. There used to be a short branch line leading from Stoke Junction to the coastal town of Allhallows but this closed from 4 December 1961, the same date on which the Hundred of Hoo line was closed to passenger services.
The first authorisation to construct a railway on the Hoo Peninsula was obtained by a group of local businessmen who sponsored the passing of the North Kent Railway Extension Railway Act in 1865 which provided for the construction of a branch line leaving the South Eastern Railway's Gravesend - Strood line near Shorne Marshes. The line would head eastwards across land north of Cliffe to reach Allhallows, continuing to the Isle of Grain. However, the major railway companies operating in the area, South Eastern Railway (SER) and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) were not interested in the project and as a result it failed to secure the necessary funding.
The opening of Queenborough railway station on 15 May 1876 by the LCDR which offered a sea link to the Dutch town of Flushing prompted the SER to investigate possibilities for a rival link to the continent. On 16 April 1878 the SER's engineer, Francis Brady, reported back to his employer on the feasibility of constructing a railway from a point near Gravesend and the North Kent Line to the village of Stoke, a distance of 9 miles. The estimated cost was £72,000. A 5% return was projected, the belief being that Gravesend's proximity to London would make it a more desirable outlet for the distribution of goods intended for the Kent area, rather than the LCDR's Chatham station.
The Hundred of Hoo Railway Company was therefore formed and a second authorisation for the line obtained in the form of the Hundred of Hoo Railway Act which received royal assent on 21 July 1879.
Seizing the opportunity to provide a sea outlet for goods to Europe, the SER announced its intention to open a new port on the Isle of Grain with a service to Belgium. This new service would compete with the LCDR's own Queenborough and Sheerness outlets. The SER was hopeful that its service would be preferred over that of the LCDR, the proposed route from Charing Cross to the new port was 40 miles, some 12 miles less than the LCDR's Victoria to Queenborough or Sheerness service.
The Hundred of Hoo Railway (Extension) Act was passed by the House of Lords on 14 July 1880 authorising an extension of 3 miles from Stoke to the new Victoria Port where a pier would be constructed. Following a call for tenders, the quotation of a certain Thomas A. Walker was accepted, he having proposed £14,421 for the railway extension (including a bridge over Higham Canal) and £18,953 for the pier. The Railway Company was absorbed into SER in August 1880.
By 1906 it had become clear that Port Victoria would not develop into a major continental sea port and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) began to look for new opportunities to bring in revenue. In July of that year seven wooden halts were constructed: Milton Road, Milton Range, Denton, Uralite, Beluncle, Middle Stoke and Grain Crossing. Uralite halt was named after the nearby British Uralite plc complex which had opened in 1899 and manufactured drainage pipes from wet asbestos paste. On 1 May 1915, the little-used Milton Road Halt was closed. The branch line to Allhallows-on-sea was opened on 16 May 1932 followed on 17 July 1932 by opening of another halt at Stoke Junction. A new station opened at Grain on 3 September 1951, replacing Grain Crossing Halt, which closed to rail traffic on 11 July 1951 and passengers on 3 September 1951 - a bus service being provided between those dates.
Port Victoria station was located at the head of the 400 ft (122 m) long pier. Ships of up to 18 ft (5.49 m) draught were able to draw-up alongside to take passengers and goods, irrespective of the tides, thanks to the pier's deep water front. A 'temporary' hotel was constructed near the pier at a cost of £1,900.
The station became popular with the Royal Family because it was secluded with no roads leading to the port. Both the Royal Train and the Royal Yacht were regular visitors to the line.
Following the merger of the SER and LCDR in 1899, Port Victoria found itself firmly in second place behind Queenborough for traffic to the continent. It was only when Queenborough was unavailable that Port Victoria saw regular sustained use. This was the case when a fire caused serious damage to Queenborough on 19 July 1900 and services were diverted via Port Victoria for the best part of the next three years - the busiest period in its history.
Following the outbreak of the First World War, the Admiralty took over Port Victoria on 11 August 1914 at a rent of £200 per annum for a lease of 14 years. A siding to Yantlet Creek was laid and artillery testing was carried out there. The Royal Naval Air Service took over the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club's headquarters which were located near the pier.
As the popularity of the new extension to Allhallows, opened in 1932, began to grow, the further decline of Port Victoria became ever more pronounced. During the 1930s, it saw only two trains per day, mainly for the workmen at the refineries on the Isle of Grain - the Medway Oil and Storage Company had been based at Elphinstone Point at the entrance to Colemouth Creek since 1923. Nevertheless, the Flushing Night Mail continued to dock at the port.
In 1932 further concerns about the stability of the pier led to the buffer being brought further forward so that only 93 ft (28 m) of railway covered the 400 ft (120 m) pier. The station was replaced the same year by a modest structure at a cost of £395. The following year the old station buildings on the pier were demolished and new fencing was erected to create a gangway on the pier in order to provide access to the navigation lights. The 1930s also saw the demolition of the old Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.
The end finally came in 1941 when its seaward end (measuring some 516 ft or 157 m) was demolished and sold for scrap to the Admiralty for £841 5s. Only a short length at the shore end now remained. Both Port Victoria Station and the previous station, Grain Crossing Halt, closed to rail traffic (but not passengers) on 11 June 1951. A new station, called "Grain", which became the line's terminus, was constructed in their place. The Port Victoria Hotel was one of the last pier buildings to be swept away in 1951.
With the failure of Port Victoria to become the valuable European seaport that had been expected, alternative means of increasing the revenue from the line were sought. Such an opportunity seemed to present itself in the early 1920s with the popularity of seaside resorts as holiday destinations for middle and working-class families with the financial means to take an annual holiday or weekend breaks. Resorts such as Brighton, Torquay and Blackpool had long been popular with seasiders since the mid-19th century, but it was only with the arrival of the railway that factory workers in London could enjoy the privileges previously reserved for the richer classes and use their free weekends to escape from their urban environment.
The Southern Railway (SR), which had taken over the SECR's activities in 1923 following the grouping ordered by the Railways Act 1921, sought to profit from this new market by offering a seaside destination within easy reach of London which would rival the London, Midland and Scottish Railway's line to Southend-on-Sea. The small village of Allhallows, population 261 in the 1880s, was identified as the only feasible location for a new seaside resort in North Kent - Herne Bay being judged too far from London and Leysdown-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey not having a direct rail service.
The ceremonial opening of the extension took place on Whit Saturday 14 May 1932 when 700 day-trippers made the journey to Allhallows on SECR R1 Class 0-4-4T No. 380, a special train laid on from London. The first passenger trains ran on the following bank holiday Monday, 16 May, with local trains starting from and returning to Gravesend Central. Cheap day return tickets from Charing Cross were offered at 5s 3d - the cheapest ticket to a Kentish seaside resort. To coincide with the opening of the new connection, other parts of the line were upgraded. At Stoke Junction, where the line to Allhallows branched off, a new halt was opened on 17 July 1932. At Cliffe and Sharnal Street, platforms were constructed, whilst at Uralite, High Halstow, Beluncle and Middle Stoke halts, concrete platforms replaced the timber ones.
Two daily express services from Allhallows to Charing Cross were laid on at 7.36am and 8.28am, returning in the early evenings on weekdays and at midday on Saturdays, as if to demonstrate the village's potential as a commuter hub. The services were hardly used, the envisaged commuter town not having yet been constructed, and the SR ran them until September, planning to re-introduce them permanently when the town was ready.
The line became increasingly popular for daytrips: on Sundays during July, August and September 1934 alone, 72,557 passengers used the line, compared with 62,120 for the same period in 1933. On Bank Holiday Sunday 5 August 1934, over 9,500 passengers made the journey to and from Allhallows. It became necessary to double the line between Allhallows and Stoke Junction, the single platform at Allhallows becoming an island with an extended platform canopy. The platform at Allhallows could accommodate ten-coach trains, and goods facilities were provided in the shape of goods sidings, a large goods shed and a turntable - none of which saw much use.
By 1939 between ten and twelve trains were laid on each way on weekdays from Gravesend, and there was an excursion from Maze Hill in August. On Sundays, seven trains were provided, with six extra during the peak holiday season.
Allhallows' popularity continued up until the outbreak of the Second World War, with 12 trains making the journey to and from Gravesend during weekdays while extra services were laid on for Sundays - 14 down and 11 up. At this time the SR considered electrification of the entire Hundred of Hoo line but ultimately decided against it. Looking back now, there is now little doubt that, had this been done, Allhallows would finally have developed into the resort and/or commuter town that had been expected.
In the frugal years that followed the end of the war, Allhallows, like Leysdown-on-Sea, began to experience lean times as passenger numbers fell. Allhallows with its single Charringtons pub, concrete road, two small refreshment stands (closed in winter) and block of four small shops (which never saw any real use and were eventually bricked up) was no match for Brighton, the attractions of which could be enjoyed by rail for an extra 1s 9d when compared to the price of an Allhallows ticket (then 5s 9d). In an attempt to stem losses, the new operator, British Railways (Southern Region) (BR), misguidedly tried out an ACV lightweight diesel railcar in late 1953, its noise and general lack of comfort probably serving however to drive away more passengers.
In the February 1954 edition of Trains Illustrated, T.J. Norris noted that many of the trains from Allhallows carried a score or so of passengers, most of whom went only as far as Cliffe. Whilst Summer and bank holidays saw some patronage of the line - an excursion train from London ran three days each week, with extra trains on Sundays and bank holidays, Winter presented a different picture with trains continuing beyond Sharnal Street being almost completely empty.
Nevertheless, BR still tried to promote the area for holiday-makers and potential residents as its Holiday Haunts guide for 1955 demonstrates: "[t]he open fields, the views, the sands and the safe bathing attract may day and weekend visitors. Undoubtedly, Allhallows has a future; roads have been laid out and it is certain that the place will develop as a pleasant, rural type of resort."
By 1955 eleven trains ran each way on weekdays, with twelve down and thirteen up on Saturdays and thirteen up and down on Sundays. In 1957, the line between Stoke Junction and Allhallows was reduced to a single track and in 1959, the Hundred of Hoo line was excluded from the Kent Coast electrification programme which saw the North Kent Line electrified.
In Winter 1959/60, against a background of a continuing drop in passenger numbers, a study was undertaken to determine the actual numbers using the line and the savings to be made by closing it to passenger traffic. The results showed that 321 passengers per day were using the Allhallows line to travel to and from Gravesend, and that a saving of £25,500 per year would be made, were the line closed.
In March 1960 the proposed withdrawal of passenger services was announced, the main line from Gravesend to Grain remaining unaffected by the changes. The closure proposal was rejected by the South Eastern Area Transport Users Consultative Committee, whose consent was required in accordance with the Transport Act 1947, on the basis that replacement bus services would be inadequate. A new proposal was made by BR a few months later, which it backed up with new figures showing that passenger numbers had further declined since Winter 1959/60 and that savings would even higher - £43,324 per annum.
Palaikythro (Greek: Παλαίκυθρο, Turkish: Balıkesir) is a village in the Nicosia District of Cyprus, located 6 km south of Kythrea, on the main Nicosia-Famagusta highway. The village is under de facto control of Northern Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.
A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.
Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.
Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.
Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.
The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.
Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.
Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.
By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.
EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.
However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.
On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.
In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.
By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.
In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.
The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.
After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".
As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.
Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.
The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.
Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.
The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.
Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.
Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria
An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."
In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.
Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.
In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.
Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.
Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.
Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:
UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.
The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.
By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."
After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.
On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.
The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.
During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.
In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.
Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.
A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.
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