Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
In southern India, a new express train went into service between Pune Junction railway station in the state of Maharashtra and Secunderabad Junction railway station in the state of Telangana. The train, which is operated by the South Central Railway (one of the 16 zones of Indian Railways), began its inaugural run after being flagged... Continue Reading →
Robert Julian Scott, whose interests and accomplishments involved several modes of transportation during his many years in New Zealand, died in the city of Christchurch at the age of 69. Scott had been born in Plymouth, England, in 1861. After completing his education, he worked briefly for the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway under... Continue Reading →
A new viaduct was completed in northwestern Argentina’s Salta Province as a key part of the Salta-Antofagasta Railway (also known as the Huaytiquina Railway). La Polvorilla Viaduct, which measures about 70 meters (229 feet) in height, took two years to build near the city of Salta and became the tallest of the railway’s 11 viaducts.... Continue Reading →
The initial segment of a railway in present-day Italy was opened between the cities of Turin and Novara. At the time, this region was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. This railway was built by renowned English civil engineering contractor Thomas Brassey, who carried out the project on behalf of the Società Vittorio Emanuele (Victor... Continue Reading →
In southeastern Norway, a new railway line connecting the village of Eidsfoss with the municipality of Tønsberg was dedicated. Jørgen Løvland, who was the minister of labor at the time and would briefly serve as prime minister of Norway later in the decade, officially opened the Tønsberg-Eidsfoss Line (Tønsberg-Eidsfossbanen, or TEB). At the time of... Continue Reading →
In present-day Poland, a new railway station was opened in the city of Kraków. (At the time, the city had recently become part of a section of the Austrian Empire known as the Grand Duchy of Kraków.) On the same day of the station’s formal debut, the first train to operate at the facility departed... Continue Reading →
Image: Turning the first turf for the Sydney Railway, 1850. Lithograph by W. Harris. State Library of NSW collection. In Australia, a company to build one of the first public railway lines in the colony (now state) of New South Wales (NSW) was incorporated. The Sydney Railway Company was put into place to develop a... Continue Reading →
Entrepreneur and politician Miguel Antonio Otero (1829-1882), who had been born in present-day New Mexico when it was still a Mexican province, was a strong supporter of railroads in that part of the world. While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for the New Mexico Territory’s at-large district from 1856 to 1861, he steadfastly... Continue Reading →
After being extensively restored, the Royapuram railway station in South India was formally reopened to the public. Rangasamy Velu, India’s union minister of state for railways, presided at this ceremony. The Royapuram railway station is located in the northern part of the city of Chennai on the Chennai Beach-Arakkonam segment of the Chennai Suburban Railway.... Continue Reading →
The first section of France’s first high-speed rail line officially began operations. The LGV Sud-Est was being built as a transit link between Paris and Lyon, and the inaugural festivities for the new line included a special train running on the completed segment between Lyon and the commune of Montchanin. As the train sped north... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 