The transport system now known as the London Underground began in 1863 with the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground railway. Over the next forty years, the early sub-surface lines reached out from the urban centre of the capital into the surrounding rural margins, leading to the development of new commuter suburbs. At the turn of the nineteenth century, new technology—including electric locomotives and improvements to the tunnelling shield—enabled new companies to construct a series of "tube" lines deeper underground. Initially rivals, the tube railway companies began to co-operate in advertising and through shared branding, eventually consolidating under the single ownership of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), with lines stretching across London.
In 1933, the UK Government amalgamated the UERL and the Metropolitan Railway as a single organisation, named the London Passenger Transport Board. The London Underground has since passed through a series of administrations, expanding further by the construction of new extensions and through the acquisition of existing main line routes, culminating in its current form as part of Transport for London, the capital's current transport administration, controlled by the Greater London Authority. (Full article...)
The following are images from various transport-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1According to Eurostat and the European Railway Agency, the fatality risk for passengers and occupants on European railways is 28 times lower when compared with car usage (based on data by EU-27 member nations, 2008–2010). (from Rail transport)
Image 13German soldiers in a railway car on the way to the front in August 1914. The message on the car reads Von München über Metz nach Paris ("From Munich via Metz to Paris"). (from Rail transport)
Image 24Various modes of transport in Manchester, England (from Transport)
Image 25Bardon Hill box in England (seen here in 2009) is a Midland Railway box dating from 1899, although the original mechanical lever frame has been replaced by electrical switches. (from Rail transport)
Image 26Bronocice pot with the earliest known image of a wheeled vehicle in the world, found in Poland (from Transport)
Image 47Traffic congestion persists in São Paulo, Brazil, despite the no-drive days based on license numbers.
Image 48Bridges, such as Golden Gate Bridge, allow roads and railways to cross bodies of water. (from Transport)
Image 49Customized motorcycle to maximize load capacity. Mobility is important for motorcycles, which are primarily used for transporting light cargo in urban areas. (from Transport)
Image 50The Cessna 172 is the most produced aircraft in history (from Aviation)
Image 51The Beijing Subway is one of the world's largest and busiest rapid transit networks. (from Transport)
Image 52European rail subsidies in euros per passenger-km for 2008 (from Rail transport)
Image 53The Lockheed SR-71 remains unsurpassed in many areas of performance. (from Aviation)
Image 67A cast iron fishbelly edge rail manufactured by Outram at the Butterley Company for the Cromford and High Peak Railway in 1831; these are smooth edge rails for wheels with flanges. (from Rail transport)
Image 68The Great North Road near High gate on the approach to London before turnpiking. The highway was deeply rutted and spread onto adjoining land. (from Road transport)
... that a section of Mississippi Highway 489 was designated as the Jason Boyd Memorial Highway to commemorate the MDOT superintendent who was killed while removing debris from the road?
... that when Charles P. Gross became the chairman of the New York City Board of Transportation, the mayor told him that "if you think war is Hell, then you have something waiting for you on this job"?
... that United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wrote an essay in 2000 on Bernie Sanders, his future competitor in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries?