The ice trade, also known as the frozen water trade, was a 19th-century and early 20th-century industry, centering on the east coast of the United States and Norway, involving the large-scale harvesting, transport and sale of natural ice, and later the making and sale of artificial ice, for domestic consumption and commercial purposes. Ice was cut from the surface of ponds and streams, then stored in ice houses, before being sent on by ship, barge or railroad to its final destination around the world.
The trade was started by the New England businessman Frederic Tudor in 1806. Tudor shipped ice to the Caribbean island of Martinique, hoping to sell it to wealthy members of the European elite there, using an ice house he had built specially for the purpose. Over the coming years the trade widened to Cuba and Southern United States, with other merchants joining Tudor in harvesting and shipping ice from New England. During the 1830s and 1840s the ice trade expanded further, with shipments reaching England, India, South America, China and Australia. Tudor made a fortune from the India trade, while brand names such as Wenham Ice became famous in London. Increasingly, however, the ice trade began to focus on supplying the growing cities on the east coast of the U.S. and the needs of businesses across the Midwest. The citizens of New York City and Philadelphia became huge consumers of ice during their long, hot summers, and additional ice was harvested from the Hudson River and Maine to fulfill the demand. Ice began to be used in refrigerator cars by the railroad industry, allowing the meat packing industry around Chicago and Cincinnati to slaughter cattle locally, before sending the dressed meat onward to either U.S. domestic or international markets. (Full article...)
Image 26The 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)
Image 32According 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 38Bardon 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England (seen here in 2009) is a Midland Railway box dating from 1899, although the original mechanical lever frame has been replaced by electrical switches.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 39Tunnels, such as the Tampere Tunnel, allow traffic to pass underground or through rock formations. (from Transport)
Image 40German 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 41The engineering of this roundabout in Bristol, United Kingdom, attempts to make traffic flow free-moving.
Image 42Traffic congestion persists in São Paulo, Brazil, despite the no-drive days based on license numbers.
Image 57Swiss & German co-production: world's first functional diesel–electric railcar 1914 (from Rail transport)
Image 58European rail subsidies in euros per passenger-km for 2008 (from Rail transport)
Image 59Arizona - North America - Southwest - Interstate Highway System (4893585908) (from Road transport)
Image 60A 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 61Customized motorcycle to maximize load capacity. Mobility is important for motorcycles, which are primarily used for transporting light cargo in urban areas. (from Transport)
Image 62Passengers waiting to board a tube train on the London Underground in the early 1900s (sketch by unknown artist)
Image 63The Beijing Subway is one of the world's largest and busiest rapid transit networks. (from Transport)
The Wright Flyer (often retrospectively referred to as Flyer I and occasionally Kitty Hawk) was the first powered aircraft designed and built by the Wright brothers. The flight is recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the standard setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics and astronautics, as "the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight".
... 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?