The Peppercorn class A1 60163 Tornado is the first new steam locomotive to be built in Britain for half a century.

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Mr Boles caused controversy last month when in his first interview since becoming the minister for planning, he said that green field sites would have to be built on if Britain was going to meet the demand for housing.

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In Britain, tunnels are often built under roads for animals of regular habits, such as badgers, to be able to travel their traditional routes without having to tangle with the traffic.

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"This is a Budget to expand prosperity and fairness for Britain's families - and it is built on the foundation of the longest period of economic stability and sustained growth in our country's history, " he told MPs.

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Yet the Victorians built railways and city halls for their descendants in what was one of Britain's most optimistic eras.

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In 1916, the largest navy in the world belonged to Great Britain (the U.S. devised plans for war with Britain as late as the 1930s), while Germany and France built powerful fleets.

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Robert Stephenson, son of George and one of the principal figures behind the expansion of Britain's railways, reckoned that a network that was just as productive could have been built for a third less than the actual cost.

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