Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 10, 1903 The three-masted topsail schooner Alma Doepel was launched on the Bellinger River in the state of New South Wales in southeastern Australia. This type of sailing vessel was used extensively for trade along the Australian coast, and the Alma Doepel is one of the oldest ships of that kind still in existence... Continue Reading →
October 9, 1935 Harvey A. Moyer, a prolific transportation entrepreneur who manufactured both horse-drawn carriages and luxury automobiles, died in Syracuse, New York, at the age of 62. Moyer, who had been born in the New York town of Clay in 1853, demonstrated a strong interest in creating vehicles relatively early on in life. When... Continue Reading →
Hispanic-American surfmen Pablo Valent, Mariano Holland, and Indalecio Lopez were among those serving at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Texas-based Brazos Life-Saving Station (the present-day South Padre Island Station) who undertook a high-risk rescue operation in the Gulf of Mexico during a severe storm in September 1919. (Valent had entered the U.S. Life-Saving Service in 1912... Continue Reading →
October 5, 1872 In southern California, construction on a major wooden pier along the Pacific coast was completed in the city of Ventura. “At last a steamer can lay alongside of the wharf, and discharge and take on cargo and passengers,” reported the Ventura Signal newspaper. “It is a grand improvement upon the old way,... Continue Reading →
October 2, 1922 Over a year after the first segment of the Boulevard of the Allies made its debut, the entire route in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was opened to traffic. The road, which links downtown Pittsburgh with the city’s Oakland neighborhood, was named in honor of the Allied Powers that had fought against Germany and the other... Continue Reading →
October 1, 1979 Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) made its debut with the opening of the first five miles (8.1 kilometers) of the Kwun Tong Line. “As champagne corks popped and a Chinese dragon danced for luck,” reported the Associated Press later that week, “Hong Kong christened its new subway system on Sunday and sent... Continue Reading →
September 28, 2008 The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge was officially opened to foot and bicycle traffic two months ahead of schedule. The footbridge crosses over the Missouri River and links the cities of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska. The 3,000-foot (914.4-meter) structure, which can be found north of the Interstate 480 girder bridge, is the longest... Continue Reading →
September 27, 1825 The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) made its debut in northeastern England’s County Durham, thereby launching the first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains. It linked the village of Witton Park with the market town of Stockton-on-Tees and also provided connections to several coal-mining facilities near the town of Shildon. The S&DR, covering a... Continue Reading →
September 26, 1944 With the United States still fighting the Axis powers during World War II, the U.S. Navy cargo ship USS Beltrami was launched. Beltrami, which had been named after a county in northwestern Minnesota, was built by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company at its shipyards in Richmond, California. The launch of Beltrami at Richmond... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 