Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
April 1, 1938 On the southeastern coast of Scotland, the steam ferry SS South Steyne was launched in Leith by the shipbuilding company Henry Robb, Ltd. This vessel was built for Australia’s Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company and its ferries operations in Sydney. (The South Steyne owes her name to a section of Manly Beach,... Continue Reading →
March 29, 1998 In Portugal, a cable-stayed bridge that is flanked by viaducts made its public debut in the frequesia (civil parish) of Parque das Nacões in the country’s capital city of Lisbon. This structure, which spans the river Tagus, was named after Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1460s-1524). Measuring 7.7 miles (12.4 kilometers) in... Continue Reading →
March 28, 2003 A long-distance hiking trail was inaugurated on the Isle of Arran, an island off the western coast of Scotland. This 66-mile (107-kilometer)-long trail is called the Arran Coastal Way. It was formally opened by Cameron McNeish, an avid hiker who is considered to be one of Scotland’s leading authorities on outdoor pursuits... Continue Reading →
March 25, 1992 A new airport in the Republic of Malta, a country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, first became fully operational. This airport is in the town of Luqa, which is only 3.1 miles (five kilometers) southwest of Malta’s capital of Valletta. The specific island on which the airport is located... Continue Reading →
March 23, 2019 An underground rapid transit station known as Arroyofresno was officially opened to the public in Spain’s capital city of Madrid. Arroyfresno is one of 31 stations on Line 7 of the Madrid Metro. With a length of 182 miles (293 kilometers) altogether, the Madrid Metro is the world’s 14th longest rapid transit... Continue Reading →
March 17, 1813 A newly completed lighthouse on Inishtrahull Island, which is about five nautical miles (t0 kilometers) off the coast of County Donegal in Ireland, first went into service. Inishtrahull Lighthouse was designed by renowned civil engineer George Halpini Sr., who had been appointed inspector of lighthouse for the Dublin Ballast Board in 1810.... Continue Reading →
March 4, 1890 Scotland’s Forth Bridge, spanning across the estuary Firth of Forth, made its official debut. This cantilever railway bridge was built to carry two tracks of the North British Railway through a stretch of territory between the city of Edinburgh and the council area of Firth. The Forth Bridge -- also known as the Forth... Continue Reading →
March 3, 1910 Transportation pioneer Dorothy Levitt was one of the featured speakers at a mid-afternoon meeting of the English Women’s Aerial League at the renowned Criterion Restaurant in London, England. The league had been established the previous year and was focused on promoting both advances in aircraft technology and the involvement of women in... Continue Reading →
February 7, 1867 William Dargan, widely considered to be one of the most significant Irish engineers of the 19th century, died in Dublin at age of 67. He had been born in 1799 in the town of Carlow in southeastern Ireland. Dargan’s public works career began in earnest in 1819 when he secured a job... Continue Reading →
February 2, 1870 As a bicycle craze swept across Europe, the first-ever official race in Italy involving that type of transportation took place. The increased popularity of bicycles owed a lot to two key developments in France during the previous decade -- the launch of the first pedal-equipped bicycle; and the Michaux Company’s subsequent mass production... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 