360Flight and railways
From balloons and steam trains to jets and the Channel Tunnel. 8 moments, oldest first.
- 178321 November 1783
People fly for the first time, in a hot-air balloon
On 21 November 1783, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes rose over Paris in a hot-air balloon built by the Montgolfier brothers. They flew about nine kilometres in some 25 minutes, the first free flight carrying people. Ten days later, a hydrogen balloon also flew, and the age of flight had begun.
- 180421 February 1804
Trevithick's engine makes the first railway locomotive journey
On 21 February 1804, a steam engine built by the Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick hauled 10 tons of iron, five wagons and about 70 men along a tramway at the Penydarren ironworks in Wales. It was the first journey by a steam locomotive on rails, covering almost 16 km in about four hours.
- 182527 September 1825
The first public steam railway opens
On 27 September 1825, the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in north-east England. George Stephenson's Locomotion No. 1 pulled a train of coal wagons and passengers, becoming the first public railway to use steam locomotives. Within decades, railways crossed continents and transformed travel and trade.
- 186310 January 1863
The world's first underground railway opens in London
On 10 January 1863, the Metropolitan Railway opened between Paddington and Farringdon in London, the world's first underground railway. Steam trains ran through shallow tunnels dug under the streets, and about 38,000 passengers rode on the first day. Cities around the world followed, and metro systems now carry tens of billions of journeys a year.
- 186910 May 1869
America's first transcontinental railroad is completed
On 10 May 1869, a ceremonial golden spike was driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, joining the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads. The line linked the eastern United States with California. A journey across the country that had taken months by wagon or ship could now be made in about a week. Thousands of Chinese and Irish workers built it.
- 190317 December 1903
The Wright brothers make the first powered flight
On 17 December 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright flew the Wright Flyer for 12 seconds and 37 metres, the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered aeroplane. By the end of the day, his brother Wilbur had flown 260 metres in 59 seconds. Aviation was born.
- 192720–21 May 1927
Charles Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic
On 20 and 21 May 1927, the American pilot Charles Lindbergh flew alone and non-stop from New York to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis, a single-engine plane. The 5,800 km flight took 33 and a half hours. He won a $25,000 prize, and huge crowds greeted him. The flight inspired public enthusiasm for air travel.
- 19946 May 1994
The Channel Tunnel opens between Britain and France
On 6 May 1994, Queen Elizabeth II and French President François Mitterrand opened the Channel Tunnel, linking Britain and France by rail under the sea. About 50 km long, with about 38 km under the seabed, it has the longest undersea section of any tunnel. Eurostar trains now link London and Paris in about two and a quarter hours.