Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 2, 1988 The innovative automobile designer Alexander “Alec” Arnold Constantine Issigonis died in Edgbaston, a town and suburban area of Birmingham, England, at the age of 81. In announcing his death, the London-based Guardian newspaper highlighted him as “not only a great and original car designer but someone who put his stamp on a... Continue Reading →
September 30, 1911 Cromwell Dixon became the first person to fly across the mountainous Continental Divide. The 19-year-old Dixon, who received his air pilot license only the previous month, had well-established credentials when it came to transportation pursuits. As a boy, for example, he constructed a rollercoaster for the kids in his neighborhood. Dixon was... Continue Reading →
September 27, 1938 The steam-powered ocean liner RMS Queen Elizabeth, constructed by the shipbuilding firm John Brown & Company for Cunard-White Star Line (renamed Cunard Line in 1949), was launched at a shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland. This ocean liner was named for the wife of England’s King George VI and queen consort of the United Kingdom... Continue Reading →
September 25, 1982 The Edna Sayers Bridge, consisting of both a cycleway and pedestrian bridge, made its debut in the Central Coast region of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). This structure spans across Saltwater Creek in the suburb of Long Jetty, and it was named in honor of a widely acclaimed cyclist.... Continue Reading →
September 23, 1913 French aviator Roland Garros established two new airborne records when he successfully undertook the longest overseas plane trip up to that point in time and also became the first person to fly across the Mediterranean Sea. The 24-year-old pilot, flying on his own in a two-seat Morane-Saulnier G monoplane, departed the Fréjus... Continue Reading →
September 20, 1910 The ocean liner SS France, which sailed for the French shipping company Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (CGT), was launched into the River Loire at Saint-Nazaire, France. Approximately 2,000 people were on hand to witness the ship’s grand debut. The France, measuring 712 feet (217 meters) in length, became one of the fastest and... Continue Reading →
September 18, 1899 The Gyeongin Line, the first railway built on the Korean peninsula, was opened after two-and-a-half years of construction. The initial segment of the line, covering approximately 21 miles (33.8 kilometers) in what is now the northwestern region of South Korea, linked the capital city of Seoul with the port city of Jemulpo (present-day... Continue Reading →
September 16, 1861 A new lighthouse went into service on a huge rock located in False Bay (a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean) and near Simon’s Town in the present-day Western Cape province of the Republic of South Africa. (At the time of the lighthouse’s debut, this region was part of the British... Continue Reading →
September 13, 1940 In a major consolidation of railroads in the south-central United States, the relatively new Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad (GM&O) assumed control of the bankrupt Mobile & Ohio Railroad (M&O) through a deed that was signed and filed in Murphysboro, Illinois. This action marked the end of the M&O, a railroad that dated... Continue Reading →
September 12, 1978 On New Zealand’s North Island, the Kamai Tunnel along the East Coast Main Trunk Railway was formally opened. Construction on the rail tunnel, which runs for 5.5 miles (8.9 kilometers) underneath the heavily forested Kamai Range, started in 1965 with a turning-of-the-sod ceremony officiated by New Zealand’s Works Minister Percy Allen. The... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 