Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
January 14, 2010 On New Zealand’s North Island, a recently completed version of a railway station building in the Auckland suburb of Newmarket was formally opened. The Newmarket railway station had first gone into service in 1873, and it originally consisted of a single island platform that could be accessed only via a ramp or... Continue Reading →
January 13, 1982 Construction began on a bridge between southwestern Brazil and northeastern Argentina. This project was a joint venture of those countries, with contractors from each working together to both design and build the bridge. It was completed in the fall of 1985, and inaugurated on November 29 of that year. The bridge carries... Continue Reading →
January 12, 1933 The ocean liner SS Lurline left New York City for her maiden voyage. She subsequently traveled to San Francisco via the Panama Canal and then to Sydney, Australia, and other ports in that region of the world. This luxurious ship was the third Matson Lines vessel named Lurline. She also had the... Continue Reading →
January 11, 1815 David Stevenson, who would achieve widespread renown as a civil engineer and lighthouse designer, was born in Scotland’s capital city of Edinburgh. By the time of his birth, his father Robert Stevenson (1772-1850) had begun to establish himself as a notable designer of lighthouses within Scotland. (This country officially became part of... Continue Reading →
January 10, 1910 The first major airshow in the United States -- as well as one of the earliest airshows worldwide -- made its debut at Dominguez Field in Los Angeles County, California. Approximately 254,000 spectators turned out for the 10-day extravaganza, which was characterized by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the greatest public... Continue Reading →
January 7, 2010 The Los Dominicos underground metro station first went into service in the vicinity of Chile’s capital city of Santiago. This station is a facility of Line 1 of the rapid transit system known as the Santiago Metro. The Los Dominicos station was built – along with the Escuela Militar, Manquehue, and Hernando... Continue Reading →
January 6, 1925 The National Automobile Chamber of Commerce held its silver jubilee dinner at New York City’s Commodore Hotel (the present-day Grand Hyatt Central New York). This dinner, which took place in conjunction with the New York Automobile Show, also served as an occasion to pay tribute to 11 automotive pioneers and present each with... Continue Reading →
January 5, 2012 The Baluarte Bridge was dedicated in western Mexico. This structure is officially known as the Baluarte Bicentennial Bridge in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Mexican declaration of independence from Spain. That bicentennial actually took place in 2010, but construction on the bridge had fallen behind schedule. The Baluarte Bridge, which took four... Continue Reading →
January 4, 2005 A newly renovated railway station in the Moroccan city of Casablanca was officially reopened. This station, which dates back to 1912, is located in Casablanca’s quartier (neighborhood) of Oasis. The year-long refurbishment of the Oasis (or Casa-Oasis) railway station was carried out by ONCF, a state-owned company that is managed by Morocco’s... Continue Reading →
January 3, 1966 A longtime railway station in the village and civil parish of Adlestrop in southwestern England was closed to passenger traffic. This marked the complete shutdown of that station, which had been closed to goods traffic during the summer of 1963. Adlestrop railway station was opened in 1853 by the Oxford, Worcester and... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 