Questions tagged [transportation]
Methods of moving people, goods or animals from one place to another, usually on large distance.
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How long would it take a Victorian to travel from central Germany to the UK?
Specifically from Lauscha in 1862, does anyone know how extensive railways were then?
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What did Germany do in World War II about the different rail gauge in the Soviet Union?
One reason it was so hard for Germany to invade Russia/the Soviet Union in World War II (and I) was because the Russians had a different (wider) railroad gauge than that of most of the rest of Europe, ...
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Why are so many metros underground? Isn't that more expensive than an elevated system?
Starting with the London Underground in 1863, why are so many metros/subways built underground (as opposed to en elevated metro)? This requires a lot of digging and excavation, which to me seems a lot ...
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How did passengers keep warm on sail ships?
Trans-Atlantic passenger travel was not very popular until the advent of the steamer, and yet men and women crossed the ocean periodically, including the affluent.
From what I've been able to gather,...
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Was public transportation free in the Soviet Union?
Was public transportation free in the Soviet Union? I'm interested in the metros and buses. If not, what did they cost?
I'm most interested in the period around the late 1950's, early 1960's, but it ...
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Why did Chicago and other cities choose an L (elevated metro) when most others chose underground subways?
From my related question, I'm trying to understand the decision-making that went into metro/subway design.
Why did Chicago choose an elevated metro system instead of an underground subway? Most other ...
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When were public roads cleaned electromagnetically?
In the first half of the 20th century, tires were more often punctured, so metal waste on the roadway was a bigger problem. The book "Lorries, Trucks and Vans 1897-1927" features an electromagnetic ...
user18968
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Where does the concept of traffic keeping to the "right" side of the street originate?
In any nation that has cars, there are well-understood rules about how to operate them. If a road is shared by traffic going both ways, everyone will, by law and convention, stick to either the right ...
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In the Soviet Union, how was payment enforced for public transportation?
From my previous, related question, public transport was not free in the USSR. It seems prices were very low, around 3 to 5 kopecks.
This seems so low that I'm surprised the government didn't simply ...
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Couldn't Japan have solved the problem of drifting at sea?
The Edo period shogunate received annual tributes from local clans, on the order of the rice to feed a thousand people. The sengokubune ships used on this route were suited for calm inland waters, ...
user18968
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When did leaf springs appear in vehicles?
Passenger vehicles require suspensions for ride comfort. Most today use helical springs, but leaf springs were at one time a major advance over chain or leather strap suspensions, and are still used ...
user18968
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How did coach service in 18th century America work?
I know that carriage transportation in the US imitated that of Europe, and I know that in the 18th century coaches could be used to transport goods and people and they could also be used as a public ...
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Construction of the Great Cothon of Carthage
I'm fascinated by the Great Cothon of Carthage, but when I try to learn more about it online, there's surprisingly little information. Everyone has physical descriptions of the size and shape, but ...
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River transportation before steam- did it always require beasts of burden?
Today, it takes gasoline or diesel fuel. Prior to that and thanks to Mr. Fulton, there was steam.
I want to learn more about even earlier river transportation systems, focusing on the Ohio and ...
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How long did it take to sail from Philadelphia to Boston in the 1700s?
How long did it usually take to sail from Philadelphia to Boston in the 1700s? I've been able to find lots of sources talking about sailing time between England and the colonies, but I haven't found ...
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