Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 21, 1863 George Alexander Troup, an architect, and engineer who designed a large number of notable railway stations in New Zealand was born to Scottish parents in London, England. Not long after his birth, his family returned to Scotland to live in Edinburgh. By the time he turned 11, Troup was attending a prestigious... Continue Reading →
October 9, 1884 In the present-day Federative Republic of Brazil, the Corcovado Rack Railway made its debut in Rio de Janeiro. At the time, Rio de Janeiro was the capital of the Empire of Brazil. Emperor Dom Pedro II officially inaugurated the railway, which transports passengers between the neighborhood of Cosme Velho and the summit... Continue Reading →
October 4, 1908 In northern Mexico, a new electric railway was inaugurated in the city of Chihuahua. This railway, with Martin Talonier as its managing director, replaced a horsecar system that had been in service since 1887. Compañía Eléctrica y de Ferrocarriles de Chihuahua (CEFC) was organized earlier in 1908 to develop an electrical means... Continue Reading →
September 18, 1899 The Gyeongin Line, the first railway built on the Korean peninsula, was opened after two-and-a-half years of construction. The initial segment of the line, covering approximately 21 miles (33.8 kilometers) in what is now the northwestern region of South Korea, linked the capital city of Seoul with the port city of Jemulpo (present-day... Continue Reading →
September 10, 2009 A new and record-setting rapid transit rail network in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city of Dubai began regular operations at 6:00 a.m. The actual debut of the Dubai Metro had taken place the previous night. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and executive... Continue Reading →
September 5, 1889 In western Brazil’s province (now state) of Mato Grosso, local merchants Manoel da Silva Monteiro and Joaquim Francisco de Matos obtained a franchise to build a street railway in the city of Cuiabá. This city has long been considered by many of its residents and others to be the geographical center of... Continue Reading →
August 21, 2014 In the state of Maharashtra in western India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for a rapid transit system to be built in the city of Nagpur. This ceremony took place the day after the Union Cabinet approved the development of the system. (The Union Cabinet, which consists of the... Continue Reading →
July 31, 1865 In the northeastern section of Australia, the inaugural train run of the world’s first narrow-gauge mainline railway occurred on a Monday morning in the colony (present-day state) of Queensland. A large number of people gathered to witness the record-setting railway’s formal debut, which took place on what the Queensland Times called a... Continue Reading →
July 16, 1902 In what is now the state of Kerala in southwestern India, the newly built Cochin Railway (commonly known today as the Shoranur Junction-Cochin Harbour Terminus section) was opened to passenger traffic. This took place more than six weeks after the railway was opened to freight traffic. At the time, this part of... Continue Reading →
July 10, 1904 The final section of the Albula Railway in Switzerland’s easternmost and largest canton (member state) of Graubünden made its formal debut. This 1.9-mile (3-kilometer)-long segment links the municipality of Celerina with the village and internationally renowned spa resort of St. Moritz, and it began operations a year after the opening of the... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 