A winter service vehicle clearing roads near Toronto, Ontario
A winter service vehicle (WSV), or snow removal vehicle, is a vehicle specially designed or adapted to clear thoroughfares of ice and snow. Winter service vehicles are usually based on a dump truckchassis, with adaptations allowing them to carry specially designed snow removal equipment. Many authorities also use smaller vehicles on sidewalks, footpaths, and cycleways. Road maintenance agencies and contractors in temperate or polar areas often own several winter service vehicles, using them to keep the roads clear of snow and ice and safe for driving during winter. Airports use winter service vehicles to keep both aircraft surfaces, and runways and taxiways free of snow and ice, which, besides endangering aircraft takeoff and landing, can interfere with the aerodynamics of the craft.
The earliest winter service vehicles were snow rollers, designed to maintain a smooth, even road surface for sleds, although horse-drawnsnowplows and gritting vehicles are recorded in use as early as 1862. The increase in motor car traffic and aviation in the early 20th century led to the development and popularisation of large motorised winter service vehicles. (Full article...)
Image 14According 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 15Lilienthal in mid-flight, Berlin c. 1895 (from Aviation)
Image 16Swiss & German co-production: world's first functional diesel–electric railcar 1914 (from Rail transport)
Image 17The Cessna 172 is the most produced aircraft in history (from Aviation)
Image 180-Series Shinkansen, introduced in 1964, triggered the intercity train travel boom. (from Rail transport)
Image 19Passengers waiting to board a tube train on the London Underground in the early 1900s (sketch by unknown artist)
Image 20The Lockheed SR-71 remains unsurpassed in many areas of performance. (from Aviation)
Image 21Transport is a key component of growth and globalization, such as in Seattle, Washington, United States.
Image 29Customized motorcycle to maximize load capacity. Mobility is important for motorcycles, which are primarily used for transporting light cargo in urban areas. (from Transport)
Image 37Map of world railway network as of 2022 (from Rail transport)
Image 38European rail subsidies in euros per passenger-km for 2008 (from Rail transport)
Image 39An ambulance from World War I (from Transport)
Image 40A 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 50Bardon 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 53The 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 55German 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)
The SS America was an ocean liner built in 1940 for the United States Lines. She carried many names in the 54 years between her construction and her 1994 wrecking, as she served as the SSAmerica (carrying this name three different times during her career), the USS West Point, the SS Australis, the SS Italis, the SS Noga, the SS Alferdoss, and the SS American Star. She served most notably in passenger service as the SS America, and as the Greek-flagged SS Australis for Chandris. In 1941, she carried two Nazi spies from the Duquesne Spy Ring in her crew: Erwin Wilhelm Siegler and Franz Joseph Stigler. Both men were charged by the FBI with espionage and sentenced to 10 years and 16 years' imprisonment, respectively.
... 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?
... 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?