Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 11, 1861 Montague Alfred Holbein, who achieved considerable fame for his competitive cycling achievements, was born in what is now the London-area suburban district of Twickenham. He proved himself to be a gifted athlete with an enviable abundance of both skill and stamina. Holbein first drew widespread attention when he readily demonstrated those qualities... Continue Reading →
August 1, 2012 In the western part of Scotland, a newly built railway station along the waterfront of the town of Gourock was officially opened. This station replaced the one that had been in operation in the immediate vicinity since June 1, 1889. Gourock railway station is a terminus of the Inverclyde Line, which has... Continue Reading →
July 21, 2000 Operations began for a transport hub in the market town of Eccles in northwestern England’s ceremonial county of Greater Manchester. (That market town, which is four miles [6.4 kilometers] west of the major city and metropolitan borough of Manchester, is best known as the namesake of a popular pie called the Eccles... Continue Reading →
July 17, 2024 In southern Italy, operations officially began for a new segment of the rapid transit system serving the city of Naples. The start of regular service for this extension of Line 6 of the Naples Metro took place the day after Gaetano Manfredi, who has been mayor of the city since 2021, joined... Continue Reading →
July 16, 1938 Operations began for an airport in the town and borough of Luton in England. (Luton, which originated as a Saxon settlement in the sixth century, is approximately 32 miles [50 kilometers] northwest of London.) Luton Airport was officially opened on that Saturday by Sir Kingsley Wood (1881-1943), who had become the British... Continue Reading →
July 10, 1947 The maiden flight of the prototype of the Airspeed Ambassador, a twin piston-engined airliner, took place in the skies above England’s southern coast. This plane, which was designed and manufactured by the British aeronautical engineering company Airspeed Ltd., became one of the first airliners to be produced and introduced in England during... Continue Reading →
July 9, 1953 A pilot cutter was launched in the town and civil parish of Dartmouth in southwestern England. The vessel was built by the Dartmouth-area shipbuilder Philip and Son for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB) -- now called the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company -- for use on the section of the... Continue Reading →
July 8, 2013 The Sveti Ilija Tunnel in central-southern Croatia was officially opened. This tunnel carries the D76 state road through a 5,387-foot (1,642-meter)-tall mountain ridge known as Sveti Ilija (Saint Elijah). This ridge, which is part of the Biokovo mountain range, was named after a prophet in the Old Testament. The Sveti Ilija Tunnel... Continue Reading →
July 3, 1905 In the northern part of London, an international electric tramway and railway exhibition was opened in the Royal Agricultural Hall in the inner-city area of Islington. This event, which would continue until July 14, was the third of its kind to be held at that location. The first of these exhibitions took... Continue Reading →
July 2, 1971 In west-central Scotland, the Erskine Bridge was formally opened. This cable-stayed box girder bridge, which crosses the River Clyde, serves as a link between the local government council areas of West Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire. (The bridge is located in the vicinity of the Renfrewshire town of Erskine.) The Erskine Bridge was designed... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 