Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
April 4, 1993 A long-distance walking trail in the Australian state of South Australia (SA) was officially opened in its entirety. Lynn Arnold (born in 1949), who was premier of SA from September 1992 to December 1993, presided at this event. The trail was named after artist Hans Heysen (1877-1968). The German-born Heysen spent most... Continue Reading →
April 3, 2016 A bus rapid transit (BRT) system in England’s ceremonial county of Greater Manchester was inaugurated. A section of this system has the distinction of being the first guided busway – a dedicated, buses-only route – to operate in northwestern England. There is a multi-user path alongside this guided section for bicyclists, pedestrians,... Continue Reading →
April 2, 1939 An airport serving Ribeirão Preto, a municipality in southeastern Brazil’s state of São Paulo, was opened. In 1956, this airport was officially named in honor of Brazilian scientist Leite Lopes (1918-2006). Lopes gained renown for his work in quantum field theory and particle physics. In the course of his long and productive... Continue Reading →
April 1, 1928 The first four trolleybuses to serve the English town and borough of Hastings began operations. These vehicles were each decorated with flags and bunting for the occasion and they were introduced as part of the plan to ultimately replace the entire aging fleet of trams in Hastings with trolleybuses. Those trams were... Continue Reading →
March 28, 1941 Champion cyclist Marcus Hurley passed away in New York City. He was 57. Hurley was born in New Rochelle, New York, on December 22, 1883. By the start of the 20th century, he had established himself as a formidable competitor in cycling races. These pedaling skills were clearly on display during a... Continue Reading →
March 27, 2016 In the Helsinki metropolitan area, a railway station in the municipality of Tuusula was closed after decades of service. This station was specifically located in the municipality’s Nuupulinna neighborhood. At the time of its shutdown, Nuupulinna railway station was part of the commuter rail system operated by Helsinski-Riihimäki railway in that region... Continue Reading →
March 26, 1931 Swissair, which would become Switzerland’s national airline, was officially established. This airline was formed from a merger between two other Swiss airlines -- Ad Astra Aero (dating back to 1919) and Balair (founded in 1925). One of Swissair’s founders was renowned aviation pioneer Walter Mittelholzer (1894-1937), whose key airborne accomplishments included making the... Continue Reading →
March 25, 2007 A two-tunnel tollway in Sydney, Australia’s most populous city and the capital of the state of New South Wales (NSW), was opened two months ahead of schedule. This structure, collectively called the Lane Cove Tunnel, serves as a link between the section of M2 Hills Motorway that is in the suburb of... Continue Reading →
March 22, 2020 The Trafford Park Line in northwestern England’s ceremonial county of Greater Manchester first went into service. This light rail line operates in the metropolitan borough of Trafford as part of the Manchester Metrolink, an extensive transit system in that region of England. The line owes its name to a particular section of... Continue Reading →
March 21, 1999 The first nonstop flight around the world by balloon came to an end in western Egypt. The pilots and sole passengers for this record-setting journey were 41-year-old psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard and 51-year-old English balloonist and former Royal Air Force pilot Brian Jones. They landed the helium-and-hot-air balloon, which was named in honor... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 