Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
Inoue Masaru, who became known as the Father of the Japanese Railways for his contributions to transit services, was born in the city of Hagi on Japan’s main island of Honshu. In 1863, Inoue – along with four other students from the region of Honshu that was then known as the Chōshū Domain (a feudal... Continue Reading →
A new railway bridge, crossing the Rhine between the city of Waldshut (present-day Waldshut-Tiengen) in the Kingdom of Württemberg (now part of southwestern Germany) and the community of Koblenz in northern Switzerland, was officially opened. The Waldshut-Koblenz Rhine Bridge, which was built to carry the Turgi-Koblenz-Waldshut Railway over one of Europe’s major rivers, had the... Continue Reading →
The first passenger railway train in eastern India (at the time under the rule of the British East India Company) steamed out of the present-day city of Howrah at 8:30 a.m. for the city of Hooghly. The trip took a total of 91 minutes. This segment of the East Indian Railway Company – ultimately known... Continue Reading →
The last mainline passenger train hauled by a steam locomotive made its run on British Rail before the implementation of a steam ban the next day. The so-called Fifteen Guinea Special (15 guineas was the equivalent of 15 pounds, 15 shillings in the pre-decimal British currency, or £15.75 today - a very high price for... Continue Reading →
The Trans-Siberian Railway was officially completed after more than a decade of construction throughout a large stretch of the Russian Empire. Thousands of workers helped build this network of railways linking Moscow with the Russian Far East. While formally finished, trains had already been running on some portions of the system; other segments, however, would... Continue Reading →
Pictured: The first Jaffa–Jerusalem train arriving in Jerusalem, 1892 The end of an era in Middle East transportation took place when Amos Uzani, chief executive officer of the state-owned Israel Railways, decided to completely close the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem railway line that had long served as a transit link between those major cities. The final train... Continue Reading →
Australia’s Tarrawingee Tramway made its formal debut. The Tarrawingee Tramway covered approximately 40 miles between the city of Broken Hill and the town of Tarrawingee in the far western region of the colony (now state) of New South Wales. The primary reason for building the tramway was to facilitate the shipment of high-grade limestone mined at... Continue Reading →
Anatole Mallet, who became a consequential if initially underappreciated engineer and inventor, was born near Geneva, Switzerland. When he was very young, he and his family moved to France. Mallet’s longtime engineering career included helping to build the Suez Canal during the 1860s. His most significant contribution, however, was in the world of railroads. By... Continue Reading →
In the Austrian Empire, the first segment of a railway to connect the capital city of Vienna with the pivotal Hungarian city of Győr (the halfway point between Vienna and Budapest) was officially opened. This initial section had been constructed between the town of Baden, which is 16 miles south of Vienna, and the Austrian... Continue Reading →
A ceremony was held to lay the foundation stone for a new railway station in Western Australia’s city of Perth. This Monday afternoon event, however, received a decidedly lackluster review from the region’s Herald newspaper. “There was a very small attendance of the public, there being scarcely any persons present but officials and children,” reported... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 