Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
March 9, 1951 The public transport agency Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos del Distrito Federal (now known as Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos de la Ciudad de México [STE]) officially launched the first trolleybus route in Mexico City. Transportes Eléctricos, in preparation for this new transit service in Mexico’s capital, had purchased a total of 20 trolleybuses... Continue Reading →
The place was New York City, and on Sunday, July 16, 1854, Elizabeth Jennings -- a member of a prominent family in that city’s African American middle-class community -- was on her way to the First Colored Congregational Church at Sixth Street and the Bowery to play the organ for a service there. Since she... Continue Reading →
February 28, 2015 A newly built railway station was opened in the city of Delft in the Netherlands’ province of South Holland. This city has played a huge role in Dutch history over the centuries and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Netherlands. Delft -- located between Rotterdam to the southeast... Continue Reading →
In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Rodney E. Slater as administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This appointment made Slater the first African American to serve in that role. He remained FHWA administrator until 1997, when Clinton appointed him to serve as U.S. secretary of transportation. Slater was only the second African American to... Continue Reading →
February 17, 2012 A major public transit milestone for Cincinnati began with the start of construction on a new streetcar system, known as the Connector, in that major Ohio city. Those on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony for this system included Mark Mallory, mayor of Cincinnati from 2005 to 2013; and Ray LaHood, U.S. secretary... 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 23, 1912 Regular service began on the Overseas Railroad, a 156-mile (251.1-kilometer)-long extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West (located beyond the end of the Florida peninsula). This service was launched the day after Henry Flagler, a founder of Standard Oil and the developer of Florida East Coast Railway (FEC), arrived in... 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 →
January 19, 1977 In the Philippines, Food Terminal Junction station (also known as FTI station) was opened in the city of Taguig in Metro Manila (an area that is officially called the National Capital Region) on the island of Luzon. FTI station is part of the South Main Line serving the larger network of the... Continue Reading →
January 10, 1912 In Australia, the first test was performed on a new tram line built in the port city of Geelong in the state of Victoria. There had been proposals to build such a transit service in Geelong as far back as 1888, and construction on the city’s tram system by the Melbourne Electric... Continue Reading →
