Transportation

A 1959 photograph of William "W.R." Saxon, who is standing third from left

This Little-Known Civil Rights Activist Refused to Give Up His Bus Seat Four Years Before Rosa Parks Did

William "W.R." Saxon filed a lawsuit against the company that forced him to move to the back of the bus, seeking damages for the discrimination and mental anguish he’d faced

Travelers can get rewarded for participating in sustainable activities.

Copenhagen Is Rewarding Tourists for Good Behavior

A new initiative incentives activities like riding a bike, taking public transit and cleaning up litter

Denver's historic train depot dates back to 1881. Today, it's a thriving community hub.

See Inside Denver's 143-Year-Old Train Station

The transit hub, which just got an $11 million makeover, is deeply connected to the city's history

Located in Noblesville, Indiana, on the outskirts of Indianapolis, Nickel Plate Express offers both train rides and railbike tours.

Railbiking Is Catching On Across the Nation—Here's Where to Try It Yourself

Sit back, relax and pedal your way along historic railroad tracks

“When I was making it, people laughed at me a good deal,” Charles F. Ritchel later said. “But so they did at Noah when he built the ark.”

Twenty-Five Years Before the Wright Brothers Took to the Skies, This Flying Machine Captivated America

First exhibited in 1878, Charles F. Ritchel's dirigible was about as wacky, dangerous and impractical as any airship ever launched

A decades-old embargo on cars and other goods meant Cubans had to refurbish vehicles built in the 1950s or before, turning Cuba into a classic car haven.

Get Your Motor Running With These Cool Cars

See 15 awesome automobiles from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

From 1979 to 2020, severe turbulence in some locations increased by as much as 55 percent, according to a 2023 study.

Climate Change Is Making Airplane Turbulence More Common and Severe, Scientists Say

Following turbulence on a flight last week that led to one death and dozens of injuries, researchers, flight attendants and transportation officials alike are warning about links between warmer air and turbulence

The driverless race cars were controlled with cameras, advanced processing units and sensors.

World's First Race of A.I.-Driven Cars Was Filled With Spins, Swerves and Stops

Though the cars could not compare to human drivers, the event may help improve self-driving technology, experts say

Built in 1917-1919, the St. Charles Air Line Bridge is one of the oldest in Chicago and has been designated a city landmark. It’s still in use for freight and cargo trains, and it lifts for boats and ships passing underneath.

Marvel at These Bold, Beautiful Bridges

See 15 superbly suspended structures from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Researchers found the train car during excavations in northern Antwerp.

Rare 100-Year-Old Train Carriage Found Buried in Belgium

The wooden LNER train wagon was a "removals truck" used to move people's belongings between residences

Robert M. Pirsig’s 1966 Honda Super Hawk Motorcycle.

This ‘Zen’ Motorcycle Still Inspires Philosophical Road-Trippers 50 Years Later

Robert M. Pirsig’s odyssey vehicle takes its final ride as it vrooms into public view for the first time ever at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

The cargo ship Dali ran into the Key Bridge after losing power on March 26.

A Massive Crane Helping With the Baltimore Bridge Cleanup Was Built to Recover a Sunken Soviet Submarine

The Chesapeake 1000 was used to construct a ship for a top-secret CIA mission in the 1970s

An artist's concept of Intuitive Machines' Moon RACER LTV

See NASA’s Initial Moon Buggy Concepts, Expected on the Moon by 2030

Three companies are competing to design NASA's lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) for the agency’s Artemis campaign

The skate was discovered in Přerov, a city in the Czech Republic's eastern Olomouc region through which the Bečva river flows.

Archaeologists Unearth 1,000-Year-Old Ice Skate Made of Animal Bone in Czech Republic

The artifact dates to a time when skates were used primarily for practical purposes

The container ship Dali hit Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024, causing the entire structure to fall within seconds.

Cargo Ships Keep Getting Bigger, and Infrastructure Is Racing to Keep Up

A massive container ship hit Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge this week, calling attention to the demands that ever-growing shipping vessels are placing on ports, canals and bridges

The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rests atop of a container ship following the bridge's collapse on March 26, 2024.

Seven of the Worst Bridge Disasters in World History

The collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge is shocking—but not unprecedented

Mabel Boll, nicknamed the "Queen of Diamonds" (left), failed to cross the Atlantic before Amelia Earhart (right).

When Amelia Earhart and the 'Queen of Diamonds' Raced to Become the First Woman to Fly Across the Atlantic

Mabel Boll, a wealthy New York socialite, dreamed of making aviation history. But Earhart beat her to the finish line, completing the trans-Atlantic journey as a passenger in June 1928

Flights typically soar above the clouds, which means passengers should have an unobstructed view of the total solar eclipse on April 8—regardless of the weather on the ground.

You Can Watch the Solar Eclipse From These Flights Through the Path of Totality

Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines are operating flights on April 8 that could give passengers unobstructed views of the rare celestial spectacle

A man exits the Euclid Avenue stop in Brooklyn.

These Photos Capture Every First and Last Subway Stop in New York City

Photographer Rita Nannini traveled across 665 miles of track and snapped some 8,000 images

A train whizzes through snowy hills with frosty peaks from the Stanovoy Ridge mountains in the distance.

Get Your Year on the Right Track With These 15 Photos of Trains Around the World

With 2024 in its earliest days, take to the rails with inspiring images of life on and around train lines

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