Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
December 23, 2018 A dedication ceremony was held for the first section of a light rail transit (LRT) system in Taiwan. This system was built to provide greater access to Danhai New Town, a large residential development of Tamsui District in New Taipei City. Danhai light rail, which is operated by New Taipei Metro Corporation... Continue Reading →
December 16, 2019 A total of three monorail train stations were formally opened on Line 15 (Silver) in São Paulo, which is Brazil’s most populous city and the capital of the state of São Paulo. The facilities inaugurated on that day were the stations São Mateus, Sapopemba, and Fazenda da Juta. The public officials taking... Continue Reading →
December 6, 1860 Railroad executive Howard Elliott was born in New York City. He started his longtime railway career during the summer of 1880 when -- while on vacation from college -- he worked as a surveyor’s assistant for the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad. After graduating from Harvard University’s Lawrence Scientific School with a... Continue Reading →
November 17, 1919 A new train terminal made its debut with hardly any fanfare in Jacksonville, Florida, at a time when that city was increasingly evolving into a vital railroad hub. At a minute past midnight, regular operations at the Jacksonville Terminal formally began when its superintendent J.C. Blanton said to his crew, “Open the... 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 →
November 2, 1863 Civil engineer Theodore Judah, whose vision and technical expertise helped bring about one of the most significant railroad accomplishments in American history, died of yellow fever at the age of 37 in New York City. He most likely contracted the viral disease in Panama while he and his wife Anne were en... Continue Reading →
October 27, 1907 A major transportation hub in Washington, D.C., made its debut when the Pittsburgh Express passenger train of the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad pulled into the new facility at 6:56 a.m. The next day’s edition of the Washington Post reported that “4,000 or more prospective passengers and spectators who crowded up... Continue Reading →
September 7, 1985 A five-story structure serving as both a passenger rail station and transportation center was officially dedicated in the city of Santa Ana in Southern California. (Santa Ana is one of the most populous cities in the Greater Los Angeles region and the county seat of Orange County.) Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center... Continue Reading →
September 6, 1871 John A. Poor, whose accomplishments included helping to develop and enrich Maine’s railroad network, died in Portland, Maine, at the age of 63. A lifelong Mainer, Poor had a deep appreciation for the potential of railroads within that state. This appreciation could be traced as far back as 1834, when he first... Continue Reading →
August 15, 1893 Construction was completed on a passenger train station at Ninth and Spruce Streets in Terre Haute, Indiana. Terre Haute Union Station was designed by Cincinnati-based architect Samuel Hannaford. In the course of its 67 years of existence, this three-and-a-half-story building served the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad; the Terre Haute & Indianapolis... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 