Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
April 22, 1833 The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad (E&KRR) was chartered in the then-Territory of Michigan, which became a state in 1837. This railroad ultimately ran from what was at that time Port Lawrence, Michigan (now Toledo, Ohio) near Lake Erie to the village of Adrian, Michigan, on the River Raisin to the northwest. E&KRR was... Continue Reading →
February 4, 1936 The British documentary film Night Mail, recounting a rail-based postal delivery service that spanned both England and Scotland, had its premiere. This screening took place at the newly opened Cambridge Arts Theatre in Cambridge, England. A little over 23 minutes in length, this GPO Film Unit documentary was directed and produced by both Harry... Continue Reading →
December 23, 1871 Operations began for the first railway in the present-day state of Western Australia (WA). At the time of this railway’s debut, WA was a British crown colony. The railway was a private one owned by West Australian (W.A.) Timber Company. This 4.3-mile (seven-kilometer) line ran between the localities of Yokanup (now known... Continue Reading →
July 10, 1908 The Thamshavn Line, Norway’s first electric railway, made its debut. The initial segment of this trailblazing line was formally opened by Norway’s King Haakon VII (1872-1957). This railway was built to carry ore from the mines at the village of Løkken Verk in central Norway to the ports of Orkanger and Thamshavn... Continue Reading →
June 21, 1954 NBC Radio presented the final broadcast of The Railroad Hour. This program, which had been on the air for 16 years, was sponsored by the American Association of Railroads (AAR). The program had a music-and-drama format, and Jeannette MacDonald (1903-1965) and Adolphe Menjou (1893-1963) were among the performers who graced those broadcasts.... Continue Reading →
August 9, 1831 The first regular steam engine train run in the United States took place in New York. The small four-wheeled steam engine DeWitt Clinton, which had been constructed in the Empire State earlier that year and was among the first steam engines to debut in the United States, successfully completed the trip of approximately... Continue Reading →
October 10, 1848 The first railroad locomotive to operate in Chicago arrived in the city via schooner. This steam locomotive, aptly named the Pioneer, had been built in 1837 for the Utica and Schenectady Railroad (U&S) in New York. Originally called Alert, this locomotive was used by the U&S for nine years before being sold to the... Continue Reading →
May 13, 1885 In Australia, the opening of a railway in the village of Oatlands in the central part of the island colony (now state) of Tasmania was celebrated with much enthusiasm. The Oatlands Railway was built as a short branch of the Main Line (also known as the South Line), a freight rail corridor... Continue Reading →
May 10, 1876 The Centennial International Exhibition -- held in Philadelphia to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in that city -- was opened. Officially called the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine, it was the first actual World’s Fair held in the United... Continue Reading →
October 9, 1834 In a trial run, the steam locomotive Hibernia pulled a train consisting of eight carriages on the newly built Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR) line in Ireland. (At that time, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged together as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; this sovereign state remained in... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 