Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
January 6, 1854 William Nelson Page, a civil engineer and industrialist who proved to be instrumental in the development of key railway routes within both Virginia and West Virginia, was born in Campbell County, Virginia. Page received his education in engineering at the University of Virginia and leveraged both that expertise and his considerable energies into... Continue Reading →
December 24, 1801 A steam-powered road vehicle was introduced to the public during a test run that began in southwestern England’s town of Camborne. This full-sized vehicle had been designed and built by Richard Trevithick (1771-1833), a prolific inventor and mining engineer from that region. Trevithick nicknamed his creation the Puffing Devil. Six passengers were... Continue Reading →
October 31, 1886 A double-deck metal arch bridge on Portugal’s northwestern coast was formally opened. This structure, crossing the river Douro, serves as a link between the cities of Porto and Villa Nova de Gaia. The bridge was named after Dom Luís I (1838-1889), who reigned as king of Portugal from 1861 until his death.... Continue Reading →
August 14, 1957 The Administration Committee of AASHO (now known as AASHTO) approved the now-familiar shield used on the Interstate Highway System. The committee made this decision in the wake of several months during which the association’s U.S. Route Numbering Committee sifted through and evaluated dozens of shapes and sizes for a possible route marker... Continue Reading →
August 12, 1971 Walter Owen “W.O.” Bentley, who achieved renown for the automobiles that he designed and built, died in a nursing home in northwestern England’s town and borough of Woking. He was 83. Bentley was born on September 16, 1888, in the Hampstead area of London. He attended Clifton College in Bristol from 1902... Continue Reading →
June 24, 1850 A major milestone for a lighthouse in Maine took place when a contract was officially entered into for rebuilding that navigational aid’s tower. This lighthouse is on Monhegan Island, which is located about 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) off the state’s mainland coast. The call for proposals to replace Monhegan Island... Continue Reading →
April 17, 1871 A railway station in the town of Scone in the colony (and present-day state) of New South Wales (NSW) was opened. Scone railway station was constructed as part of the NSW-based Great Northern Railway, which is also known today as the Main North Line. The inaugural duties for this station were carried... 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 →
José Moreno Hernández was born on August 7, 1962, in the community of French Camp in California. His family was originally from the municipality of La Piedad in western Mexico’s state of Michoacán. During much of his childhood, as a matter of fact, Hernández and his family routinely spent half the year in the United... Continue Reading →
July 29, 1882 São Thomé Lighthouse in the Brazilian municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes in what is now the state of Rio de Janeiro was officially inaugurated. At the time of this lighthouse’s debut, most of the territory comprising the present-day Federative Republic of Brazil was instead part of the Empire of Brazil. São Thomé... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 