Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
May 28, 1870 Operations began for a funicular -- a railway designed to travel both up and down steep slopes -- on Mount Washington in Pittsburgh’s South Side area. This section of the Steel City is located along the Monongahela River and across from the city’s downtown area. The origins of this funicular, which... Continue Reading →
May 13, 1885 Operations officially began for a rapid transit system in what was then the independent city of Brooklyn, New York. This new means of public transportation in Brooklyn was the first elevated railway – a transit system with its tracks above street level and on a viaduct or some other raised structure –... Continue Reading →
March 26, 2025 In Utah’s Salt Lake County, a light rail station in the community of Daybreak was officially opened. Daybreak is part of the city of South Jordan. This city is one of many within the Wasatch Front, the name of the metropolitan region in the north-central section of the Beehive State. South Jordan... Continue Reading →
Margaret A. Wilcox, who was born in Chicago in 1838, became a prolific mechanical engineer and inventor at a time when very few women -- due to prevailing social conventions -- played any meaningful role at all in these professions. She developed a strong interest in mechanical engineering early in life and would use her... Continue Reading →
March 4, 1937 After five weeks of crew training at a depot in the Scottish city of Glasgow, the prototype of the Class K4 locomotive of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) made its public debut as a self-propelled vehicle for passenger trains. This prototype constituted what became a new class of 2-6-0 steam... Continue Reading →
February 20, 2020 Operations began for the first two sets of four-car 8100 class trains that had been recently acquired by the Philippine National Railways (PNR) as part of its efforts to improve commuter services in Metro Manila (the National Capital Region), the largest metropolitan area of that Southeast Asian archipelagic country. These diesel multiple... Continue Reading →
January 22, 2015 In South Korea’s northeastern area, operations began for a scenic tourist train in Jeongseon County in the state of Gangwon-do. This premium transit service, which is run by the Korea Railroad Corporation (branded as Korail), is popularly known as the A-Train; its full name is the Jeongseon Arirang A-Train. Arirang is a... Continue Reading →
January 7, 1946 On New Zealand’s North Island, a railway station in the city of Lower Hutt was officially opened. (At the time, New Zealand was still a dominion of the British Empire; it achieved full autonomy the following year.) This station serves Lower Hutt’s suburbs of Naenae and Avalon. The Naenae railway station, as... Continue Reading →
In the Canadian province of British Columbia, the paddle steamer sternwheeler Moyie was launched at Kootenay Lake in the city of Nelson. This vessel, which was built in prefabricated sections in Toronto, became the newest steamship acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The launch of Moyie was described by the Vancouver-based Daily News Advertiser... Continue Reading →
September 3, 2006 A railway line in the southern area of Finland began regular train runs. This 47-mile (75.7-kilometer)-line serves as a link between the town of Kerava and the city of Lahti. The start of daily operations for the Kerava-Lahti railway line took place a couple of days after several events commemorating the new... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 