Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
January 16, 1932 After approximately three decades of operation, a leading interurban transit line in the northwestern part of Ohio launched its final passenger car runs. This service had been incorporated as the Western Ohio Railway on October 11, 1900, under the laws of the Buckeye State. By 1903, the Western Railway covered 36 miles... Continue Reading →
January 15, 1884 A steamship built for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) was launched in the ward of Williamsburg in the city of Brooklyn (now one of New York City’s five boroughs). This late-morning ceremony specifically took place at the shipyard of James D. Leary (1837-1902). The design for the ship has been... Continue Reading →
January 14, 1926 MV Carnarvon Castle, an ocean liner of the Union-Castle Line, was launched at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Northern Ireland’s capital city of Belfast. This vessel was named for a medieval fortress in northwestern Wales. Carnarvon Castle dates back to the 11th century, with its current stone structure completed in 1283.... Continue Reading →
February 4, 1936 The British documentary film Night Mail, recounting a rail-based postal delivery service that spanned both England and Scotland, had its premiere. This screening took place at the newly opened Cambridge Arts Theatre in Cambridge, England. A little over 23 minutes in length, this GPO Film Unit documentary was directed and produced by both Harry... Continue Reading →
January 10, 1998 Operations began for a train station in the municipality of Ferraz de Vasconelos in southeastern Brazil’s state of São Paulo. This station is part of Line 11 (Coral) of the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) , which is known in English as the São Paulo State Metropolitan Trains Company. The CPTM... Continue Reading →
January 9, 1960 In a Saturday ceremony, a cantilever truss bridge in northern Delaware was officially dedicated. This structure, which was named the Summit Bridge after a community in that vicinity of the state, crosses the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. (This canal connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay.) The Summit Bridge replaced a... Continue Reading →
January 8, 1838 One of the first railroads to be built in New York -- and the entire northeastern United States, for that matter -- first went into service. The Auburn and Syracuse Railroad (A&S) was constructed to provide easy access for the village (present-day city) of Auburn and the factories in that area to the... Continue Reading →
January 7, 1813 A little over eight months after construction on it had begun, a wooden bridge crossing the Schuylkill River in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Fairmount was officially opened. This bridge was built by Lewis Wernwag (1769-1843). This structure had a clear span of 340 feet and three inches (103.7 meters) and it became... Continue Reading →
January 6, 1919 A little less than two months after the armistice ending World War I had gone into effect, USS Kestrel II (SP-529) – which served as a patrol vessel for the U.S. Navy during that military conflict – was decommissioned. Kestrel II was originally a private motor yacht that had been built in... Continue Reading →
January 3, 2008 A bridge crossing Keppel Bay in the southernmost section of the Central Region of Singapore made its public debut. This bridge carries both motor vehicles and pedestrians between Keppel Island and the mainland. It also carries lines for water, electricity, and other essential services to Keppel Island. Measuring 820 feet (250 meters)... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 