In 2026 the United States will be celebrating its Semiquincentennial or 250th birthday. The Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on July 4, 1776. More recently, in July 2016, the US Congress signed into law the United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act, which created the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission and...
This replica of the U.S. Civil War submarine HL Hunley sits outside the Charleston Museum. The HL Hunley (named after her inventor, Horace Lawson Hunley) was a Confederate State submarine, built in Mobile, Alabama in 1863 and launched in July 1863. She had a crew of 8...
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is to be the new home of American author Robert M. Pirsig’s 1966 Honda Super Hawk motorcycle featured in his book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values. Pirsig’s book, originally published by William Morrow in...
The Old Town Model Railroad Depot, a small model railway museum based in San Diego’s historic Old Town district, will remain open under new ownership. I can’t resist either a model railway or a good news story, so this is a welcome piece of news. The Depot,...
The museum ship SS John W. Brown, one of only two World War II ‘Liberty’ ships preserved and still operational*, is looking for a new home. The Liberty ships were the cargo-carrying workhorses of the Allied war effort. They were produced with conveyor belt efficiency in huge...
Hertz are offering a spectacular car rental option at some of its airport locations in the USA. Auto racing fans and car enthusiasts can rev up their ride with the 2020 Hertz-Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 and 2020 Hertz-Hendrick Motorsports Camaro SS in the signature Hertz yellow and...
From tomorrow there’s a new way to travel to the Grand Canyon in style. The Rail Baron Charter, a private luxury train comprised of three 1940s and 1950s railcars, will be operating on the Grand Canyon Railway. The train set comprises The Kansas – a rear open-aired...
Fort Sumter at the entrance to Charleston harbour has had a lot thrown at it over the centuries. Hurricane Dorian, earlier this month, was just the latest assailant to threaten the 190 year old island fortress*. The opening shots of the American Civil War were fired at...
The Naval and Maritime Museum at Patriots Point is pretty spectacular and definitely worth a visit if you are in the neighbourhood. By ‘neighbourhood’ I mean pretty much anywhere on the central east coast of the continent! The largest exhibit by far is the aircraft carrier, USS...
Space Center Houston¹ re-opened the Apollo Mission Control Center to the public yesterday, after a two-year restoration programme. The mission control room, which was used during the Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle eras and became a National Historic Landmark in 1985, has been returned to the state it...
On Tuesday night, the world’s largest steam locomotive, Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. X4014, returned to life¹, and yesterday it made its first test run in preparation for a steam locomotive “race” starting tomorrow. Both of Union Pacific’s historic steam locomotives – Big Boy No. 4014 and...
The H.L. Hunley was the world’s first combat submarine to sink a ship. In the quiet of the night on 17th Feb 1864, eight men from the Confederate Army gathered on the beach on Sullivan’s Island outside Charleston, South Carolina. Wading into the sea, they climbed on...
The USA’s National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, has released its very own customised version of Monopoly. You gotta love it! National Naval Aviation Museum–Opoly (it just rolls off the tongue!) is full of aircraft, exhibits, history and a trip through the largest Naval Aviation museum...
The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia is opening a new permanent exhibit on 9th May 2019. It’ll be the first in America devoted to exploring the constitutional debates from the Civil War and Reconstruction. Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality will feature key...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
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