“For a hundred years, from the early 1800s to the early 1900s, Europe and America had cities of at least a million people that ran on a massive, sophisticated network of carriages and streetcars. By 1880, according to historian John H. White, Jr., US cities had 415 horse-drawn railways running, with 18,000 cars on 3,000 miles of track, carrying 1.2 billion passengers a year. Most of these lines continued decades into the age of electricity and coal, simply because the horses worked better than any other option.” Read: Horse-drawn public tranportation. Thanks, Johan. Previously: Bring back the horses.
Horse-Drawn Public Transportation
November 19, 2010 by Filed Under: Animal power, History, Horses, Obsolete technology, Public transport, Travel
Ship mills
November 17, 2010 by Filed Under: Boats, Obsolete technology, Shipping, Water powered machines, Water wheels
“Boat mills: water powered, floating factories” at Low-tech Magazine. Some extra images below:
Exhibiting the Latest Progress in Machines, Motors, and the Transmission of Power (1892)
October 28, 2010 by Filed Under: Books & Reference, Obsolete technology, Random
“Modern mechanism; exhibiting the latest progress in machines, motors, and the transmission of power“, Benjamin Park (1892).
Parts of 1909 Automobiles
September 9, 2010 by Filed Under: Cars, Obsolete technology, Travel
- Rambler Model “Z” Runabout (1909)
- Ford Models N, R, S and S Roadster (1909)
- Thomas Flyers (1909)
Ferraris of Ancient Egypt
August 10, 2010 by Filed Under: Chariots, Obsolete technology
Even at speeds of about 25 miles per hour on Egypt’s irregular soil,
King Tut’s chariots were efficient and pleasant to ride. Read. Via Atlas Obscura Blog.
Obsolete Technology Prints and Photograph Collections
July 13, 2010 by Filed Under: Aviation, Balloons, Boats, Cities, Obsolete technology, Pack animals, Photography, Streets
Three wonderful collections from the Library of Congress, showing obsolete technologies.