Let's study English now

Spengler
An Illustrated Timeline of An Illustrated Timeline of

How have people traveled and moved goods throughout history,

TRANSPORTAT ION
and when were different methods invented? From canoes to

An Illustrated Timeline of
trains, cars to airplanes, this book-length timeline is packed
with all kinds of transportation. Pick a point and start exploring!

transportation
Reinforced Library Binding

by Kremena T. Spengler
illustrated by Eldon Doty
 Let's study English now

An Illustrated Timeline of

TR A NSPORTAT ION by Kremena T. Spengle

r
ty
illustrated by Eldon Do
 Let's study English now

Special thanks to our adviser, Terry Flaherty, PhD, Professor of English,

Minnesota State University, Mankato, for his expertise.

Editor: Jill Kalz

Designer: Tracy Davies
Art Director: Nathan Gassman
Production Specialist: Sarah Bennett
The illustrations in this book were created with ink and color wash.
Long ago, humans walked wherever they
Photo Credits: Iakov Kalinin, Mikhail Nekrasov, Shutterstock: cozta, WDG Photo
needed to go. They used animals to carry
Picture Window Books
151 Good Counsel Drive loads and pull carts and wagons. Over time,
P.O. Box 669
Mankato, MN 56002-0669 people created machines such as trains,
877-845-8392
www.capstonepub.com ships, and airplanes to help them move faster,
Copyright © 2012 by Picture Window Books, a Capstone imprint. farther, and higher. This movement—by land,
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without
written permission from the publisher. The publisher takes no water, or air—is called transportation.
responsibility for the use of any of the materials or methods described
in this book, nor for the products thereof.

All books published by Picture Window Books This book is written in the form of a timeline.
are manufactured with paper containing at least
10 percent post-consumer waste. It lists events in the order in which they
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data happened. Important chunks of time, such
Spengler, Kremena.
An illustrated timeline of transportation / by Kremena T. Spengler ; as the Automotive Age, are grouped together.
illustrated by Eldon Doty.
p. cm. — (Visual timelines in history) You don’t have to read the book from start
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-4048-6661-4 (library binding) to finish (though you can if you want to). Dip
ISBN 978-1-4048-7019-2 (paperback)
1. Transportation engineering—History—Chronology—Juvenile in and out! Discover how transportation has
literature. 2. Motor vehicles—History—Chronology—Juvenile
literature. I. Doty, Eldon, ill. II. Title. changed people’s lives around the world.
TA1149.S64 2012
388.09—dc22
2011010467

Printed in the United States of America in North Mankato, Minnesota.

032011 006110CGF11

3
 Let's study English now

ancient 4000 BC
3500 BC

Times
People in Mesopotamia (present-day
The ancient
Iraq) invent the wheel. They use it to 300 BC
build simple wagons and carts.
Egyptians discover Traders begin
6300 BC how to join pieces
of wood together. By
travel along the
Silk Road. The road
People in the joining wood, they runs 4,000 miles
present-day can make larger, (6,437 km) between
Netherlands longer boats. Europe and Asia.
make dugout
canoes from 2500 BC
hollowed-out logs. The camel is tamed around this time.
It helps people travel through deserts.

6000 BC
People in Scandinavia (present-day
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) make
wooden sleds to travel on snow.
AD 117
500 BC At its peak, the Roman
Empire has 50,000 miles
Persian King Darius builds the Royal (80,467 km) of roads.
Road. It is 1,500 miles (2,414 km) of
roads between the Persian Gulf and
the Mediterranean Sea. 312 BC
The ancient Romans
build the Via Appia. It
is the first of a system
4000 BC of well-drained,
stone-paved roads.
People in the Middle East start using
animals to pull heavy loads.

4 5
 Let's study English now

Dar k, Midd le, A ND 1450

early m odern ag e s By this time, the Inca in
Peru have built 20,000 miles
(32,187 km) of roads. The roads
connect 10 million people.
605
Chinese workers begin building
the Grand Canal system. The
1,114-mile (1,793-km) waterway 1485
Leonardo da Vinci designs a parachute. He
is used to transport grain. later designs a flying machine with wings,
an early submarine, and an early helicopter.

1086
Records first show the
use of a compass. Chinese
sailors used one at sea. 1673
Colonists build
the Boston Post
Road. This series
of roads runs
between Boston,
Massachusetts, and
1000 1373 1457 New York City. The
Viking ships led by Leif Eriksson cross roads will become
Canal builders in the Netherlands perfect
the North Atlantic Ocean. They are The first smooth-riding four-wheeled the first highways
locks. Locks are the “steps” that carry ships
thought to be the first European ships coaches are built in Hungary. The design in the United States.
up or down between two water levels.
to reach North America. will quickly spread throughout Europe.

6 7
 N e w Modes
Let's study English now

exploring 1775
Daniel Boone
and a party of
settlers widen
an American-
Indian trail (the
Warrior’s Path)
1732 in Tennessee 1783
and Kentucky.
The first U.S. stagecoach It becomes the On June 4, French
line to serve the public Wilderness Road. brothers Joseph and
1771
opens in New Jersey. Cugnot’s second steam carriage runs Jacques Montgolfier fly
into a wall at about 3 miles (4.8 km) an the first hot air balloon.
hour. It is the world’s first “car” accident.

1779
A short canal is built in Quebec, Canada. It is
1797
the first canal with locks in North America.
Some roads in Shropshire, England,
are switched to iron rails. Horses pull
wagons along these rails as an early
1776 form of railroad.

American David
Bushnell builds
the Turtle, an
1765 1769 early submarine.
Scottish engineer James Watt invents Frenchman Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot
a steam engine. Steam engines will builds a steam carriage, an early
later power boats and locomotives. type of automobile.

8 9
 Powered
Let's study English now

1815 January 5, 1818

by steam John McAdam, The James Monroe

a Scottish engineer, sails from New
invents a new way to York City to
build roads in Great Liverpool, England.
Britain. The basics It is the start of
of his layered, the world’s first
transatlantic
1804 hard surface
method are still service.
Englishman George Cayley used today.
flies the first unpiloted glider. 1811
Robert Fulton and Robert R. Livingston
start a steamboat service on the
Mississippi River.

1818
German engineer Rudolph Ackermann
makes a way to steer horse-drawn
carriages. The steering method is still
used in modern vehicles.

1816
Baron Karl von Drais, a

February 21, 1804 August 17, 1807 German engineer, makes

The first working steam locomotive runs
in England. It hauls five coal cars along
10 miles (16 km) of track.
an early type of bicycle.
The first reliable steamboat sails up Basically, it’s a bike
the Hudson River from New York City without pedals or gears.
to Albany. Built by Robert Fulton, it’s
called the Clermont.

10 11
 Let's study English now

laying 1833 1839

track
At 136 miles (219 km), Kirkpatrick Macmillan,
the South Carolina a Scottish blacksmith, invents
Railroad becomes the the first pedal bicycle.
longest railroad in
the world.

September 27, 1825

The Stockton & Darlington
Railway opens in England. It is
1830
the world’s first steam railroad. The United States has 23 miles
(37 km) of railroad.

1833
It takes only seven hours to travel
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
to New York City by train. The trip
used to take three days by horse.

April 1838
The Sirius becomes the
first ship to cross the
October 26, 1825 July 4, 1828 Atlantic Ocean under
steam power alone.
The Erie Canal is completed. Measuring Work begins on the Baltimore The trip takes 18 days.
363 miles (584 km) long, it connects the & Ohio, the first U.S. railroad
northeastern United States to the Great Lakes. to offer service to the public.

12 13
 Let's study English now

By land 1858 January 10, 1863

and by se a The first stretch

of asphalt is laid
on a street in
Paris, France.
The world’s first subway opens
in London, England. Called the
Metropolitan Line, it uses trains
powered by steam.

1841
The first wagon train of
U.S. settlers begins the
journey from the Missouri
River to the Pacific Ocean.

1858 1860
George Pullman introduces the Pullman The United States has more
1852 sleeping car. Train passengers can now
sleep in beds during overnight travel.
than 30,000 miles (48,280 km) of
railroad track. That’s more than
the rest of the world combined.
Frenchman
Henri Giffard
builds the world’s 1859
first dirigible.
1845 Unlike a balloon, Etienne Lenoir builds
this steerable the first practical
The steamship Great passenger airship internal combustion
Britain is finished. It’s has a motor. engine. This engine
the first ocean ship made will help start the
of iron, rather than wood. Automotive Age.

14 15
 paving
Let's study English now

1871 1885
the way English inventor
James Starley
patents a
August 2, 1873
Gottlieb Daimler
of Germany
invents the first
bicycle with one A cable car is tested gas-powered
large and one on the steep hills
1865 small wheel. of San Francisco,
motorcycle.
It’s nicknamed California. The car
The first concrete the “Penny is dragged on rails
pavement is laid Farthing.” by a long cable under
in Inverness, the street surface.
Scotland.

April 29, 1869 November 17, 1869 1883

Central Pacific workers The Suez Canal opens. It connects the To simplify train schedules, railroads
build 10 miles (16 km) Mediterranean and Red Seas, shortening in the United States and Canada replace
of track in one day. the journey from Europe to Asia. local times with standard time zones.

May 10, 1869 1885

The Central Pacific and Union The Canadian Pacific Railway
Pacific Railroads meet at is completed. It’s the first
Promontory Summit, Utah. transcontinental railroad
The first U.S. transcontinental across Canada.
railroad is completed.

16 17
 Let's study English now

T he au tomoti v e 1896
1898

Age Begins
John Holland,
German inventor an Irish-American
Gottlieb Daimler builds engineer, builds
the world’s first truck. the first modern
submarine.
July 3, 1886
Karl Benz, a German engineer,
builds the first useful,
gasoline-powered car in the
world. It has three wheels.

1888 September 1, 1897

The first city-wide system The first public subway in the United
of electric streetcars in the States opens in Boston, Massachusetts.
United States begins running It’s 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.
in Richmond, Virginia.

1893 1897
Brothers Charles and Frank
Francis E. and Freelan O. Stanley, twin
Duryea build the first
brothers, produce the Stanley Steamer.
gasoline-powered car in
It is the first commercial steam-powered
the United States.
car built by Americans.

18 19

UP, UP,
AND AWAY!
1903
The Harley-Davidson
Motor Company sells
its first motorcycle.
In less than 20 years,
it will be the world’s
largest motorcycle
manufacturer.
October 27, 1904
The New York City Subway opens. The
largest in the United States, it’s 9.1 miles
(14.6 km) long, with 28 stations.
20
Let's study English now
December 17, 1903
Wilbur and Orville Wright
fly the first airplane at Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina.
October 1, 1908
The Ford Motor
Company rolls out
the first Model T.
The car opens the
way for the average
person to buy an
automobile.
1913
Henry Ford starts
the first assembly
line. Cars and
other goods can
now be made
more quickly. June 14, 1919
John Alcock and Arthur Brown make the first
nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. They
fly from Newfoundland, Canada, to Ireland.
April 15, 1912 1920
The RMS Titanic About 1.2 million people travel
sinks in the North by rail this year in the United
Atlantic Ocean. States, an all-time record.
August 15, 1914
The Panama Canal
opens. It is a huge
October 31, 1913 time-saving shortcut
The Lincoln Highway
for ships traveling
between the East
opens. It’s the first
and West coasts of
road to cross the entire
the United States.
United States.
21
 ING
Let's study English now

CON T ROLL
THE SKIES 1933
Germany begins

May 20, 1927

construction of a system
of divided freeways
Charles Lindbergh, an American called autobahns. These
pilot, flies nonstop across the freeways become the
model for U.S. interstates. 1939
Atlantic Ocean. He starts in New Igor Sikorsky, a Russian
York and lands in Paris, France. engineer, creates the first
practical helicopter. It
will be the model for all
future helicopters.

1938
Bohemian engineer
Ferdinand Porsche
designs the
Volkswagen Beetle.

June 17, 1928

American pilot
Amelia Earhart
becomes the first
woman to fly across 1929 1930 February 8, 1933
the Atlantic Ocean. Englishman Frank Whittle patents
Greyhound Bus Lines begins The first modern passenger airplane,
a design for an engine that will the Boeing 247, begins service.
service in the United States.
later power jet airplanes.

22 23
 Let's study English now

MOVING May 2, 1952 June 29, 1956

FART HER, FA S T ER The world’s

first jet
U.S. President
Dwight Eisenhower
airplane begins signs the IHS Act
commercial into law. It creates
1940 flights. It goes the country’s
Interstate
from London,
The first U.S. England, to Highway System.
expressways open to
traffic. They are the
Johannesburg, 1959
South Africa.
Merritt Parkway in The St. Lawrence Seaway opens to
Connecticut and the boats. The waterway runs from the
Pennsylvania Turnpike. Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.

August 1, 1952 1957

The first Holiday Inn opens. The start For the first time in history, more
of motel chains is a sign of Americans’ Americans travel by air this year
growing love for car travel. than by rail.

October 4, 1957
The Soviet Union launches the

February 10, 1942

Ford Motor Company stops production
of all non-military vehicles as the United
States enters World War II (1939–1945).
world’s first artificial satellite.
Called Sputnik 1, it marks the
October 14, 1947 start of the Space Age.
American pilot Charles “Chuck” Yeager
makes the first faster-than-sound flight.

24 25
 blasting
Let's study English now

September 30, 1968 March 2, 1969

into spa ce Boeing rolls out the Boeing

747 “jumbo jet.” It will be the
world’s largest passenger
The Concorde makes
its first flight. The
French-British
supersonic May 1, 1971
airplane until 2005. airplane travels
April 12, 1961 at more than Amtrak is created in
the United States. The
twice the speed
Soviet Yuri Gagarin becomes of sound. government-run train
the first human to orbit system takes over
Earth. He rides aboard the passenger traffic from
Vostok 1 spacecraft. private railroads.

June 16, 1963

Valentina Tereshkova,
from the Soviet Union,
becomes the first woman
to fly in space.

July 20, 1969

October 1, 1964 U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong
and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin become
Japan’s “bullet train” becomes the
the first humans to safely land
world’s first high-speed passenger train.
on the moon.
It runs between Tokyo and Osaka.
Travel time is cut from 6 hours,
30 minutes to 3 hours, 10 minutes.

26 27
 Let's study English now

developing November 14, 1994 2000 April 27, 2005

ne w t ec h nol og y The Channel Tunnel opens. Called

the “Chunnel,” the underwater
tunnel allows train travel
Toyota releases the Prius. The car
is the first four-door, gas-electric
The Airbus A380 makes its
first flight. It can carry up to
555 passengers, making it the
hybrid in the United States.
between England and France. world’s largest airplane to date.

April 12, 1981

The United States launches
the space shuttle Columbia.
It is the world’s first
reusable spacecraft.

July 7, 1981 1998 2011

The Solar Challenger Driverless trains start Electric vehicles
crosses the English running in part of the Paris (EVs) become more
Channel. It’s the first subway. They’re operated widely available
solar-powered aircraft. by computers. around the world.

1984 June 21, 2004

Americans Greg Johanson and
Joel Davidson create the first December 31, 2002
100-percent solar-powered car.
The first magnetic levitation (maglev) rail
line opens in Shanghai, China. Trains glide
above tracks, moved by magnets.
SpaceShipOne makes the
first manned private space
flight. It is a test flight for
a contest called the X PRIZE.

28 29
 Let's study English now

Build Your Own Timeline Glossary

asphalt—a black tar mixed with sand and gravel
to make roads
A timeline shows a number of events in chronological
canal—a channel dug across land; canals
order—the order in which they happened in time. connect bodies of water so ships can travel
Make a timeline of the history of air transportation. between them
Start with the Wright Brothers’ success at Kitty Hawk commercial—having to do with business
in 1903 and end with today. concrete—a mixture of cement, water, sand,
and gravel that hardens when it dries
Use dates from this book as a starting point. Then expressway—a wide highway with few stops
that is used for high-speed travel
search online for more dates by entering “history of
hybrid—a mixture of two different types
flight,” “history of flying,” or “aviation history.” Check
out books in your local or school library. If you need launch—to send off
help finding information, be sure to ask a librarian.
lock—a “step” that carries a ship up or down
between two water levels
locomotive—an engine that moves on its own power
mode—a method or way
orbit—to circle around an object
patent—to own the sole rights to make or sell
a product
pave—to cover a road with a hard surface
pavement—the hard covering for a street or sidewalk
satellite—an object that orbits a planet or other
space object
transcontinental—crossing a continent
transport—to move from place to place

To Learn More
More Books to Read Internet Sites
December 17, 1903 FactHound offers a safe, fun way to find Internet
Bozzo, Linda. Getting Around in the Past, Present, and

? Future. Imagining the Future. Berkeley Heights, N.J.:

Enslow Publishers, 2011.
Curlee, Lynn. Trains. New York: Atheneum Books for
sites related to this book. All of the sites on
FactHound have been researched by our staff.
Here’s all you do:
Young Readers, 2009. Visit www.facthound.com
Perritano, John. Revolution in Transportation. It Works. Type in this code: 9781404866614
TODAY
?
New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2010.
Check out projects, games and lots more at
stu f f ! www.capstonekids.com

30 31
 Let's study English now

INDEX
Ackermann, Rudolph, 11 concrete, 16 Lenoir, Etienne, 15 spacecraft, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
Africa, 4, 24 Cugnot, Nicolas-Joseph, 8 Lincoln Highway, 21 SpaceShipOne, 29
airplanes, 3, 7, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, Daimler, Gottlieb, 17, 19 Lindbergh, Charles, 22 Sputnik 1, 25
25, 26, 27, 28, 29 Darius, King, 5 Livingston, Robert R., 10 Stanley Brothers, 19
Alcock, John, 21 Davidson, Joel, 28 locks, 6, 9 Starley, James, 16
Aldrin, Edwin “Buzz,” 27 da Vinci, Leonardo, 7 locomotives, 8, 10 steam power, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14,
Amtrak, 27 dirigibles, 14 Macmillan, Kirkpatrick, 13 15, 19
animals, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11, 13 Duryea Brothers, 18 magnetic levitation, 29 steering mechanisms, 11
Armstrong, Neil, 27 Earhart, Amelia, 22 McAdam, John, 11 St. Lawrence Seaway, 25
Asia, 4, 5, 6, 16, 23, 25, 26, 29 Egyptians, 4 Merritt Parkway, 24 Stockton & Darlington
asphalt, 15 Eisenhower, Dwight, 25 Montgolfier Brothers, 9 Railway, 12
autobahns, 23 engines, internal motels, 25 streetcars, 18
Automotive Age, 3, 15 combusion, 15 motorcycles, 17, 20 submarines, 7, 9, 19
Baltimore & Ohio Railway, 12 Erie Canal, 12 North America, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, subways, 15, 19, 20, 28
Benz, Karl, 18 Eriksson, Leif, 6 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, Suez Canal, 16
bicycles, 11, 13, 16 Europe, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29 Tereshkova, Valentina, 26
boats, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, oceans, 6, 13, 14, 16, 21, 22, 25 Titanic, RMS, 21
21, 25 23, 24, 27, 28 Panama Canal, 21 Toyota, 29
Boone, Daniel, 9 Ford, Henry, 21 Pennsylvania Turnpike, 24 trains, 3, 13, 15, 17, 26, 27,
Boston Post Road, 7 Ford Motor Company, 20, 24 Porsche, Ferdinand, 23 28, 29
Brown, Arthur, 21 Fulton, Robert, 10 Pullman, George, 15 trucks, 19
Bushnell, David, 9 Gagarin, Yuri, 26 railroads, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, Turtle, the, 9
cable cars, 17 Giffard, Henri, 14 17, 21, 25, 27 Union Pacific Railroad, 16
Canadian Pacific Railway, 17 gliders, 10 rivers, 10, 14 Via Appia, 5
canals, 6, 9, 12, 16, 21 Grand Canal system, 6 roads, 5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 16, 17, 21, Vikings, 6
carriages, 11 Great Britain, 14 23, 24, 25 von Drais, Baron Karl, 11
cars, 8, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, Great Lakes, 12, 25 Romans, 5 Vostok 1, 26
28, 29 Greyhound Bus Lines, 22 Royal Road, 5 wagons, 3, 5, 9, 14
carts, 3, 5 Harley-Davidson Motor satellites, 25 waterways, 6, 25
Cayley, George, 10 Company, 20 Sikorsky, Igor, 23 Watt, James, 8
Central Pacific Railroad, 16 helicopters, 7, 23 Silk Road, 5 wheel, invention of the, 5
Channel Tunnel highways, 7, 21, 23, 24, 25 Sirius, 13 Whittle, Frank, 23
(“Chunnel”), 28 Holland, John, 19 sleds, 4 Wilderness Road, 9
Clermont, 10 hot air balloons, 9, 14 Solar Challenger, 28 Wright Brothers, 20
coaches, 7, 8 Inca, 7 South America, 7 Yeager, Charles “Chuck,” 24
Columbia, 28 James Monroe, 11 South Carolina Railroad, 13
compasses, 6 Johanson, Greg, 28 Space Age, 25

Look for all the books in the series:

An Illustrated Timeline of Inventions and Inventors An Illustrated Timeline of Transportation
An Illustrated Timeline of Space Exploration An Illustrated Timeline of U.S. States

32