Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
November 14, 1982 Manors Metro station in northeastern England’s ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear was officially opened. This station, which is located in the Shieldfield area of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, is part of the region’s Tyne and Wear Metro light rail rapid transit system. Measuring a total of... Continue Reading →
November 9, 1922 More than three decades after being launched, the Norwegian ship Skomvær was retired from service. This three-masted barque was the first sailing ship in Norway to be built with steel. Measuring 257.4 feet (78.5 meters) in length, Skomvær also long held the record as the largest of all Norwegian vessels. Skomvær was... Continue Reading →
November 2, 1864 A newly completed railway in the Kingdom of Italy was officially opened. (The Kingdom of Italy existed from 1861 to 1946; it was replaced by the present-day Republic of Italy.) That 61.5-mile (99-kilometer) line connected the city of Bologna in Emilia-Romagna region with the city and comune (municipality) of Pistoia in the... Continue Reading →
October 27, 2008 In western Switzerland’s canton (member state) of Vaud, a rapid transit station was officially opened near the Place de la Riponne in the city of Lausanne. The Place de la Riponne is a historically significant grand square at the center of Lausanne, which is Switzerland’s fourth largest city and the capital of... Continue Reading →
October 19, 2006 The Celtic Gateway Bridge in Wales was opened for use. This stainless steel pedestrian and cycle bridge is located in Holyhead, the largest town and community within the Isle of Anglesey (a county off the northwestern coast of Wales). The Celtic Gateway Bridge was officially inaugurated by Andrew Davies (born in 1952),... Continue Reading →
October 11, 2018 In the Republic of Ireland, an offshore patrol vessel built by Babcock Marine in England’s ceremonial county of Devon was delivered to the Irish Naval Service at its base on the island of Haulbowline in Cork Harbour. This vessel was named after George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), a world-renowned Irish playwright whose works... Continue Reading →
October 9, 1890 French inventor and engineer Clément Ader made aviation history when he attempted to fly a steam-powered aircraft that he had built. This aircraft was named the Éole in honor of Aeolus, the ancient Greek god of the winds, and it featured wings resembling those of a bat. Ader tested his flying machine just... Continue Reading →
October 3, 1906 In southwestern England, a road-rail swing bridge crossing the River Avon in Bristol -- a city, ceremonial county, and unitary authority -- first went into service. The Ashton Avenue Bridge was built as a key part of the Bristol Harbour Railway, a longtime transportation link for Bristol’s docks and wharves. Alfred John... Continue Reading →
September 28, 2022 Bródno station on Line M2 of the Warsaw Metro rapid transit underground system first went into service. This station, which marks the eastern terminus of that line, is located in the vicinity of Kondratowicza, Rembielińska, and Bazyliańska Streets in the Bródno neighborhood of Poland’s capital city. Construction on the station began in... Continue Reading →
September 26, 2009 More than a quarter-century after its operations were halted, the trolleybus system in the city and commune (municipality) of Chieti in central Italy was brought back into service. The following month, Omar Cugini reported on this milestone was in the Rome-based magazine TheCommuter: News from the World of Mobility and Public Transport.... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 