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 26Customized motorcycle to maximize load capacity. Mobility is important for motorcycles, which are primarily used for transporting light cargo in urban areas. (from Transport)
Image 27Bronocice pot with the earliest known image of a wheeled vehicle in the world, found in Poland (from Transport)
Image 28Modes of road transport in Dublin, 1929 (from Road transport)
Image 34The Lockheed SR-71 remains unsurpassed in many areas of performance. (from Aviation)
Image 35San Diego Trolley over Interstate 8 (from Road transport)
Image 36The 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 37Interior view of a high-speed bullet train, manufactured in China (from Rail transport)
Image 40Map of world railway network as of 2022 (from Rail transport)
Image 41A 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 45Lilienthal in mid-flight, Berlin c. 1895 (from Aviation)
Image 46According 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 47A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Rail transport)
Image 48The Cessna 172 is the most produced aircraft in history (from Aviation)
Image 57First powered and controlled flight by the Wright brothers, December 17, 1903 (from Aviation)
Image 580-Series Shinkansen, introduced in 1964, triggered the intercity train travel boom. (from Rail transport)
Image 59Bardon 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 60A replica of a "Little Eaton Tramway" wagon; the tracks are plateways. (from Rail transport)
Image 65Bridges, such as Golden Gate Bridge, allow roads and railways to cross bodies of water. (from Transport)
Image 66Bulk cargo of minerals on a train (from Rail transport)
Image 67German 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 68Transport is a key component of growth and globalization, such as in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The Moscow Metro in Moscow, Russia, is the world's most heavily used metro system. It is well known for the ornate design of many of the stations (such as Kievskaya Station, pictured), containing stunningly beautiful examples of socialist realist art. In total, the Moscow Metro has 277.9 km of route length, 12 lines and 171 stations. Although passenger traffic is considerably lower on weekends, on a normal weekday the Metro carries 10.05 million passengers, bringing the average daily passenger traffic per year to 8,745 million passengers per day. Moscow Metro is a state-owned enterprise.
... 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 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 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?