Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 21, 2015 Tren del Valle, a commuter rail service in the west-central region of Argentina, was opened. This transit line, which runs trains on tracks belonging to the General Roca Railway, connects the cities of Plottier, Neuquén, and Cipoletti. The public officials taking part in the official launch of Tren del Valle included Cristina... Continue Reading →
July 6, 1891 In the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, a full-rigged sailing ship was launched at the C.R. Burgess Yard in the seaside village of Kingsport. This wooden vessel, named Canada, had been designed by the prolific shipbuilder Ebenezer Cox (1828-1916). At the time of her launch, Canada held the record as the largest... Continue Reading →
June 26, 2007 Work began on a railway tunnel in the municipality of Bӕrum, a western suburb of Norway’s capital city of Oslo. A drilling and blasting method was used for creating this tunnel, which is now the major portion of the 4.2-mile (6.7-kilometer) Asker Line. The first dynamite salvo for the project was fired... Continue Reading →
April 21, 2015 A still-intact world speed record for rail vehicles was established in Japan when a seven-car L0 Series train reached a maximum of 375 miles (603 kilometers) per hour. This record-breaking trip took place on a test track in the city of Tsuru in Yamanashi Prefecture, which is part of the Chūbu region... Continue Reading →
April 12, 1890 Nearly three decades after becoming the first streetcar company to operate in Washington, D.C., the Washington and Georgetown Railroad achieved a new milestone by switching from horse-drawn streetcars to cable cars. “CABLE CARS RUNNING,” proclaimed a headline in that day’s edition of the Washington Critic. This change took placed due to a... Continue Reading →
February 16, 1979 In the Great Lakes region, a lake freighter (also known as a laker) made her first voyage. This was the first voyage of that type of vessel in mid-winter, and it took place on the mostly ice-covered waters of both Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. This lake freighter was constructed by Bay... Continue Reading →
February 3, 1862 The first railway line in New Zealand was opened with considerable fanfare. (At the time, New Zealand was a British colony; it gained semi-independent status as a dominion of the British Empire in 1907 and achieved full autonomy in 1947.) Horse-drawn train cars were used for this 13.4-mile (21.5-kilometer)-long privately owned and... Continue Reading →
January 31, 1862 A railway bridge was inaugurated in an area of western England that is now entirely within the county of Worcestershire. This bridge, which went into regular service the day after it was it was officially opened, crosses the River Severn between the village of Upper Arley (part of the county of Staffordshire... Continue Reading →
January 20, 1902 A railway station in the Alnabru neighborhood of Norway’s city of Kristiania was opened. At the time, Norway was part of the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway. Under this personal union, those countries had the same monarch; the capital typically alternated throughout each year between Kristiania and the Swedish city of... Continue Reading →
November 4, 1862 In eastern India, a newly completed bridge located at the town of Koilwar and spanning the Son River in the present-day state of Bihar was opened to railway traffic. (This bridge made its debut at a time when that region of India was part of the Bengal Presidency, a subdivision of the... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 