Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
March 13, 1886 Albert William Stevens, who achieved renown as a balloonist and aerial photographer during his service in the U.S. Army, was born in the city of Belfast, Maine. He was the third child of Nathan and Alice Whitten. After his mother died only five months after his birth, he was adopted by Andrew... Continue Reading →
March 6, 1995 Operations began for a newly built rail station in the city of San Clemente on the coast of Orange County, California. This station is served by both the Orange County Line and Inland Empire-Orange County Line of southern California’s commuter trains network Metrolink. San Clemente station is specifically located in the North... Continue Reading →
March 3, 2014 William “Bill” Reid Pogue, whose extensive flight achievements included service as both a U.S. Air Force (USAF) officer and NASA astronaut, died at his home in Cocoa Beach, Florida. He was 84. Pogue started out life on January 30, 1984, Okemah, Oklahoma. He was of Choctaw ancestry, even though he never became... Continue Reading →
February 25, 1908 The first tube of the McAdoo rapid transit tunnel system allowing electric trolleys to travel between Hoboken, New Jersey, and Manhattan was formally opened amid great fanfare. This structure made history as the first transportation tunnel beneath a major river. “It is the first tunnel for passenger traffic under the Hudson River and... Continue Reading →
February 19, 1966 It was the end of an era in train history when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad’s steam locomotive No. 4960 departed from Union Station in St. Louis, Missouri, for a trip to the city of Hannibal in the Show-Me State. This steam locomotive was a coal burner dating back to 1923. (The... Continue Reading →
February 13, 1958 The Ford Motor Company introduced the first four-passenger model of the Ford Thunderbird (popularly known as the T-Bird) nearly four years after the original version of this automobile -- which was built for two -- had made its official debut. The four-passenger version marked the transformation of the T-Bird from a sports car... Continue Reading →
February 12, 1938 A truss bridge built in the Montopolis neighborhood of Austin, Texas, in Travis County was dedicated during a Saturday ceremony. The next day’s edition of the Austin American reported, “The huge span of smooth concrete and shiny steel was constructed to replace [an] old iron bridge washed out by the flood of... Continue Reading →
February 5, 1916 A hospital ship was launched at the Jackson and Sharp shipyards of the American Car and Foundry Company in Wilmington, Delaware. This vessel was built for use by St. John’s Guild, a charity in New York City that was founded in 1866 and focused on addressing the health needs of medically underserved... Continue Reading →
February 3, 2008 Bicycle mechanic and expert Sheldon Brown died in the Boston-area city of Newton, Massachusetts, at the age of 63. Brown was the parts manager, technical consultant, and webmaster for a bicycle shop near where he lived, but his formidable expertise and interest in both vintage and contemporary bicycles earned him acclaim that went... Continue Reading →
January 29, 1914 Fred L. Baker (1872-1927) was a long way from his hometown of Los Angeles, but he had had an important reason for being in New York City on a Thursday in January. As president of the Automobile Club of Southern California -- an affiliate of the federation of motor clubs of the... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 