Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Victorian engineers sent passenger trains through loops
Long before Six Flags, William Bridges Adams patented a rail system that threw actual passenger trains through a massive vertical loop just for the thrill of…
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How postmen bicycled along South African railways
Delivering mail across the vast, arid expanse of the South African Karoo desert sucked, so clever postmen figured out how to hitch a ride on the existing…
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Belly landing a DC-4 without modern fire foam
Before modern aviation safety pampered us with fire-retardant foam, belly landing a plane meant kissing your ass goodbye and hoping for sparks, not…
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The railcar that kept rural trains running
Post-war railroads were bleeding money on local passenger routes, so the Budd Company threw them a shiny, stainless-steel lifeline. The Budd Rail Diesel Car…
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A truck could roll over a person without crushing them
William Albee invented Rolligon tires to conquer the unforgiving, roadless Arctic tundra, but his marketing strategy involved repeatedly running himself over…
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The flight that lost its roof at 24,000 feet
Taking a quick island hop in Hawaii turned into an unsolicited convertible experience when the roof of Aloha Airlines Flight 243 violently ripped off at…
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The secret fuel pipeline beneath the English Channel
Moving gasoline in WWII via ship was notoriously explosive, so British engineers decided to simply hide a massive pipeline beneath the English Channel.…
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British Rail once patented a nuclear-powered flying saucer
In 1973, British Rail got tired of delayed trains and decided the logical next step was a nuclear-powered flying saucer. Patent number 1,310,990 outlines a…
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The desert train that crossed the Sahara
Crossing the Sahara in the 1920s usually meant dying of thirst on a camel, until the French introduced the Reso Wagon. These massive, multi-wheeled land…
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The overhead monorail that carried luggage through stations
Decades before modern conveyor belts, inventor John Hays Hammond decided the best way to move suitcases was an elaborate, elevated monorail network. Instead…
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The ferry powered by its own passengers
Commuting is bad enough without being forced into manual labor, but Swedish designers in the 1990s strongly disagreed. The Sjösala was a concept for a…
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When cars had to be pulled by horses
During the Great Depression, Canadians literally couldn't afford gasoline, turning their shiny new Fords into very heavy, incredibly stupid-looking wagons.…
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The truck tycoon who built trains for the desert
Robert LeTourneau wasn't satisfied with standard trucks, so he spent his career attempting to make highways entirely obsolete. He pioneered massive,…
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How volunteers resurrected a Welsh railway
Before historical preservation was a trendy weekend hobby, rail nerds were essentially breaking and entering. In 1948, the abandoned Ffestiniog Railway was…
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The hovertrain project that ended in tragedy
Jean Bertin dedicated his life to making trains hover, pouring his soul into the jet-powered Aérotrain. But when the French government unceremoniously killed…
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Navy destroyers babied the first ocean crossing
Eight years before Charles Lindbergh claimed all the glory, a US Navy flying boat called the Curtiss NC-4 actually crossed the Atlantic first. But they…
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Before self-driving cars, robots followed painted lines
Long before Tesla promised autonomous driving, mid-century logistics hubs had 'trackless trains' that followed simple optical lines painted on warehouse…
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A bridge collapse brought retired ferries back
The exact moment the Tacoma Narrows Bridge dramatically wiggled itself into the Puget Sound, local transit authorities had to panic-buy every retired, rusting…
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The locomotive that could climb nearly vertical tracks
Looking like it was assembled by a wildly intoxicated blacksmith, the Shay locomotive shoved its boiler entirely to the left to make room for exposed gears on…
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Over 500 people suffocated on a train in 1944
Imagine being stuck in a tunnel on a stalled train while the engine burns the equivalent of toxic dirt. In 1944, an insanely overloaded Italian freight train…
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Fishing boats became emergency ferries after an explosion
When the MV Betelgeuse exploded in Ireland in 1979, it didn't just vaporize a massive offshore jetty; it totally severed Whiddy Island's lifeline. The…
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George Pullman cut workers' pay but kept rents high
George Pullman revolutionized rail travel by introducing ridiculously plush sleeping cars, then forced his factory workers to live in a branded company town…
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The train that crashed through a station wall
If you want to know what happens when Westinghouse air brakes fail on a moving 700-ton locomotive, look no further than the 1895 Granville express. The train…
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The Le Mans crash that changed racing safety
Motorsport safety in the 1950s essentially boiled down to crossing your fingers and hoping a fiery wreck wouldn't vaporize the front row. During the 1955 Le…
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