Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
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 →
January 2, 1935 The Chicago and North Western (C&NW) Railway formally inaugurated its 400 passenger train service between Chicago, Illinois, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, with a final stop in Minneapolis. This train, which would later be renamed “The Twin Cities 400,” was called “400” in part as an homage to “The Four Hundred Club.” (This phrase... Continue Reading →
December 31, 1932 A railroad bridge crossing the Ohio River between the city of Henderson, Kentucky, and Vanderburgh County, Indiana, was formally opened. This 12,123-foot (3,695)-long structure was constructed by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) to replace the bridge that this company had built in the vicinity during the 1880s. That original bridge, which... Continue Reading →
December 30, 1899 With a new century fast approaching, the Great Lakes sidewheeler steamboat Tashmoo was launched at 11:30 a.m. at the Wyandotte Yards in the Detroit area. This passenger ship, which was built by the Detroit Shipbuilding Company for the White Star Line, had already achieved a large measure of fame at the time of... Continue Reading →
December 27, 2006 In Los Angeles, a bus station was opened in the neighborhood of Canoga Park in the city’s San Fernando Valley region. This station, which is specifically located on Canoga Avenue, is part of the G Line of the Los Angeles Metro Busway system. Canoga station was built to help address the lack... Continue Reading →
December 26, 1859 At eleven o’clock on a Monday morning, the pilot boat John D. Jones, No. 15, was launched into a section of the East River within the ward of Williamsburg in the city of Brooklyn (now one of New York City’s five boroughs). J.D. Jones had been built by J.B & J.D. Van... Continue Reading →
December 24, 1915 At 4:00 p.m., a recently finished masonry arch bridge in northwest Washington, D.C., made its ceremony-free debut. This Christmas Eve opening was authorized by U.S. Army Major Charles W. Kutz (1870-1951), the military civil engineer member of the three-person Board of Commissioners that governed the city at that time. The completion of... Continue Reading →
December 23, 1871 Operations began for the first railway in the present-day state of Western Australia (WA). At the time of this railway’s debut, WA was a British crown colony. The railway was a private one owned by West Australian (W.A.) Timber Company. This 4.3-mile (seven-kilometer) line ran between the localities of Yokanup (now known... Continue Reading →
December 20, 1920 Linton Hope, who earned widespread fame for his contributions to yacht and aircraft design, died in the market town and civil parish of Midhurst in southeastern England. He was 57. Hope had been born April 18, 1863, in northwestern England’s market town and civil parish of Macclesfield as Linton Chorley Hopps. He... Continue Reading →
December 19, 1903 New York City’s Williamsburg Bridge, which crosses over the East River, was formally opened. This structure was the first major suspension bridge in the United States to have steel towers rather than masonry towers. At the time of its debut, the 7,308-foot (2,227-meter)-long structure also enjoyed the distinction of being the world’s longest suspension... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 