Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
January 23, 1942 Nearly six weeks after the United States’ entry into World War II on the side of the Allies, a vessel constructed for the U.S. Navy by Ingalls Shipbuilding was launched. This Friday afternoon event took place at the company’s shipyard in the city of Pascagoula in Jackson County, Mississippi. The new ship... Continue Reading →
January 22, 1884 Samuel Eckels, who would carve out a longtime and consequential career in the development of highways in the United States, was born in the borough of West Brownsville, Pennsylvania, in the Pittsburgh area. In 1905, he graduated from Washington & Jefferson College in that region of the Keystone State with a bachelor of... Continue Reading →
January 17, 1929 Popeye the Sailor, one of the all-time favorites among cartoon characters, made his debut in a supporting role in E.C. Segar’s comic strip Thimble Theatre. In keeping with what has remained his maritime orientation, Popeye found himself in his first appearance being approached about helping out with waterborne transportation. An enterprising character named... Continue Reading →
January 16, 1932 After approximately three decades of operation, a leading interurban transit line in the northwestern part of Ohio launched its final passenger car runs. This service had been incorporated as the Western Ohio Railway on October 11, 1900, under the laws of the Buckeye State. By 1903, the Western Railway covered 36 miles... Continue Reading →
January 15, 1884 A steamship built for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) was launched in the ward of Williamsburg in the city of Brooklyn (now one of New York City’s five boroughs). This late-morning ceremony specifically took place at the shipyard of James D. Leary (1837-1902). The design for the ship has been... Continue Reading →
January 9, 1960 In a Saturday ceremony, a cantilever truss bridge in northern Delaware was officially dedicated. This structure, which was named the Summit Bridge after a community in that vicinity of the state, crosses the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. (This canal connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay.) The Summit Bridge replaced a... Continue Reading →
January 8, 1838 One of the first railroads to be built in New York -- and the entire northeastern United States, for that matter -- first went into service. The Auburn and Syracuse Railroad (A&S) was constructed to provide easy access for the village (present-day city) of Auburn and the factories in that area to the... Continue Reading →
January 7, 1813 A little over eight months after construction on it had begun, a wooden bridge crossing the Schuylkill River in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Fairmount was officially opened. This bridge was built by Lewis Wernwag (1769-1843). This structure had a clear span of 340 feet and three inches (103.7 meters) and it became... Continue Reading →
January 6, 1919 A little less than two months after the armistice ending World War I had gone into effect, USS Kestrel II (SP-529) – which served as a patrol vessel for the U.S. Navy during that military conflict – was decommissioned. Kestrel II was originally a private motor yacht that had been built in... 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 →
Transportation History 