Train platform

Change Over Time Project: Transportation

  • Trascontinental Railroad

    Trascontinental Railroad
    On May 10, 1869, locomotives from the two major railroad companies met nose-to-nose in a ceremonial joining of the two lines that established the Pacific Railway. The event reduced travel time from New York to California from the original 6 months, to just two weeks, revolutionizing travel and shipping options enabling commerce to reach new heights.
  • The Lightning Route, 1886

    The Lightning Route, 1886
    In 1886, the Capital City Railway in Alabama, used electricity in its trolley system to increase their speed dramatically therefore, allowing the cars to move 6 miles per hour, both up and downhill. The system would revolutionize interurban commuting. This was instrumental to the working population of any major US city.
  • Tremont Street Subway

    Tremont Street Subway
    After approval from Legislators, the Massachusetts Governor and the Boston Transit Commission, the construction of three tunnels and subways was commenced. The Tremont Street Subway was built and is now known to be the oldest subway tunnel in North America.
  • Wright Brothers' First Flight

    Wright Brothers' First Flight
    After years of experimentation and failures, in April of 1903, the Wright Brothers were finally successful with their first airplane flight.
  • Henry Ford's Assembly Line

    Henry Ford's Assembly Line
    The assembly line, recognized as the most influential innovation of its century, shaped manufacturing and industrialism for the entire world. Henry Ford introduced it in 1913 and continued to expand on it with the conveyor belt and other engineering fetes that are still being used today.
  • First Non-Stop Transatlantic Flight

    First Non-Stop Transatlantic Flight
    The U.S. Navy achieved the first transatlantic flight, on a five-leg trip that began in New York and ended in Plymouth, England over a course of 24 days.