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1882

First Central Station in South Carolina
Society: IEEEMain Category: ElectricEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1882United States Electric Illuminating CompanyCharlestonState: SCZip: 29401Country: USAWebsite: http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestones:First_Central_Station_in_South_Carolina,_1882Creator: Maxim, Hiram

The United States Electric Illuminating Company of Charleston started up South Carolina's first central station for incandescent lighting in October 1882 -- only one month after Thomas Edison opened his famous Pearl Street plant in New York City. In the following years, the company's parent firm was a major force in the growing electrical industry.

YearAdded:
1986
Image Credit: Courtesy IEEEImage Caption: The United States Electric Illuminating Company central station at 94 Queen Street.Era_date_from: 1882
Vulcan Street Plant
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Power GenerationEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1882Fox RiverAppletonState: WIZip: 54911Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/29-vulcan-street-power-plant, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/c0b5b641-34df-46a5-aa22-c847b42084b4/29-Vulcan-Street-Power-Plant.aspxCreator: Rogers, H.J. , Edison, Thomas

The plant began operation only twenty-six days after Thomas Edison's first steam plant began operating on Pearl Street in New York (NL 46). On September 30, 1882, an Edison "K" type dynamo produced electricity from a water-powered turbine to light three buildings (two paper mills and the H.J. Rogers home), at rate of about 12 1/2 kilowatts. It is the first Edison hydroelectric central station to serve a system of private and commercial customers in North America. The story of its development provides keen insight into the nation's first experiences with the electric light.

YearAdded:
1977
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/bigcityal (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Vulcan Street PlantEra_date_from: 1882
Pilatusbahn - the world's steepest cog railway
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Rail TransportationEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1882Brünigstrasse 4
605
AlpnachCountry: SwitzerlandWebsite: https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/220-pilatusbahn, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/8c4b369d-83fd-4b9e-9248-b6d78b28628c/220-Pilatusbahn-1882.aspxCreator: Locher, Eduard , Locher Systems

The Pilatusbahn—the steepest rack railway in the world—has operated successfully since its opening in 1889 over a route of 4.62 kilometers (2.87 miles) between Alpnachstad on Lake Lucerne and Pilatus Kulm, rising 6,791 feet (2,070 meters) above sea level. This results in a gradient of 48%, or a rise of nearly one meter in two meters of run on the steepest sections of the line, which amounts to about a quarter of its length.

YearAdded:
2002
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Stephane Dewarrat (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: PilatusbahnEra_date_from: 1882
Kinzua Railway Viaduct
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BridgesEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1882Kinzua CreekMcKean CountyState: PAZip: 16735Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Kinzua-Railway-Viaduct/Creator: Chanute, Octave , Phoenix Iron Works

The workforce consisted of less than 100 men, yet they finished construction in just 94 days. Such speed was possible due to the elimination of scaffolding. Instead, iron rods were used to support construction of the trusses between the towers, and workers moved back and forth across the rods. A dangerous venture, yet no workers were seriously injured.

YearAdded:
1982
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Peter Pawlowski (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Kinzua Railway ViaductEra_date_from: 1882
Edison 'Jumbo' Engine-Driver Dynamo
Society: ASMEMain Category: Electric, MechanicalSub Category: SteamEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1882Henry Ford MuseumDearbornState: MIZip: 48124Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/electric-power-production-steam/-48-edison--jumbo--engine-driver-dynamo-%281882%29Creator: Edison, Thomas

This dynamo, connected directly to a high-speed steam engine, was one of six that produced direct current at Thomas A. Edison's electric power station at 257 Pearl Street in New York City. The Pearl Street Station was the prototype for central station power generation. Edison set out in 1878 to provide an electrical distribution system to bring lighting into the home: His first filament lamp lit on October 21, 1879. With the help of Frances Upton and C.L. Clarke, Edison built his engine-driven dynamo for the 1881 Paris Electrical Exposition.

YearAdded:
1980
Image Caption: Edison jumbo dynamoEra_date_from: 1882
Eddystone Lighthouse
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Water TransportationEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1882Eddystone RocksState: CornwallCountry: UKWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Eddystone-Lighthouse/Creator: Winstanley, Henry , Smeaton, John

An early image of the James Douglass lighthouse, with the stump of the Smeaton-designed building beside it.  

Eddystone Lighthouse is located in the English Channel, 14 miles south of Plymouth, England. The reef upon which it stands was the source of many shipwrecks... and many lighthouses, the first of which was built in 1698. The first three lighthouses were wooden, and suffered the fate of sea storms. John Smeaton  built the fourth lighthouse in 1759 of Cornish granite.   

YearAdded:
1991
Image Credit: Public Domain; Produced prior to 1/1/1923Image Caption: Eddystone LighthouseEra_date_from: 1882
Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge railway runs along the Highline.
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Roads & RailsEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1882DurangoState: COCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/project/durango-silverton-narrow-gauge-br-of-the-d-rgwr/Creator: Palmer, William Jackson , Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad

The Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad extends from the town of Durango to the mining camp of Silverton. Built in 1882 through one of the most rugged mountain areas of the nation, its complexity remains a testament to the role civil engineering played in the development of the western United States. 

The tracks rise up the sheer, steep Animas Canyon, running along a rock ledge just wide enough to carry the train. The line is used today as a tourist attraction, carrying visitors through the picturesque San Juan Mountains.

YearAdded:
1968
Image Caption: Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge railway runs along the Highline.Era_date_from: 1882
Reuleaux Collection of Kinematic Mechanisms
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalEra: 1800-1829DateCreated: 1882Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringIthicaState: NYZip: 14853Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/education/-232-reuleaux-collection-of-kinematic-mechanisms-a, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/f47f8dae-5d5c-4b9e-abd0-1ff665b17100/232-Reuleaux-Collection-of-Kinematic-Mechanisms-at-Cornell-University.aspxCreator: Reuleaux, Franz

Kinematics is the study of geometry of motion. Reuleaux designed the models in the Cornell collection as teaching aids for invention, showing the kinematic design of machines. The mechanisms in the collection represent the fundamental components of complex machines and were conceived as elements of a basic “language of invention.” Today the models are still used in the teaching of machine design and synthesis, robotics, dynamics, architectural drawing and mathematics.

YearAdded:
2004
Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: A page taken from Gustav Voigt's catalog of Reuleaux's Mechanisms,Era_date_from: 1882
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Innovations

Reuleaux Collection of Kinematic Mechanisms

Kinematics is the study of geometry of motion. Reuleaux designed the models in the Cornell collection as teaching aids for invention, showing the kinematic design of machines. The mechanisms in the collection represent the fundamental components of complex machines and were conceived as elements…

Read More
Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge railway runs along the Highline.

The Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad extends from the town of Durango to the mining camp of Silverton. Built in 1882 through one of the most rugged mountain areas of the nation, its complexity remains a testament to the role civil…

Read More
Eddystone Lighthouse

An early image of the James Douglass lighthouse, with the stump of the Smeaton-designed building beside it.  

Eddystone Lighthouse is located in the English Channel, 14 miles south of Plymouth, England. The reef upon which it stands was the source of many shipwrecks... and many…

Read More
Edison 'Jumbo' Engine-Driver Dynamo

This dynamo, connected directly to a high-speed steam engine, was one of six that produced direct current at Thomas A. Edison's electric power station at 257 Pearl Street in New York City. The Pearl Street Station was the prototype for central station power generation. Edison set out in 1878 to…

Read More
Kinzua Railway Viaduct

The workforce consisted of less than 100 men, yet they finished construction in just 94 days. Such speed was possible due to the elimination of scaffolding. Instead, iron rods were used to support construction of the trusses between the towers, and workers moved back and forth across the rods. A…

Read More
Pilatusbahn - the world's steepest cog railway

The Pilatusbahn—the steepest rack railway in the world—has operated successfully since its opening in 1889 over a route of 4.62 kilometers (2.87 miles) between Alpnachstad on Lake Lucerne and Pilatus Kulm, rising 6,791 feet (2,070 meters) above sea level. This results in a gradient of 48%, or a…

Read More
Vulcan Street Plant

The plant began operation only twenty-six days after Thomas Edison's first steam plant began operating on Pearl Street in New York (NL 46). On September 30, 1882, an Edison "K" type dynamo produced electricity from a water-powered turbine to light three buildings (two paper mills and the H.J.…

Read More
First Central Station in South Carolina

The United States Electric Illuminating Company of Charleston started up South Carolina's first central station for incandescent lighting in October 1882 -- only one month after Thomas Edison opened his famous Pearl Street plant in New York City. In the following years, the company's parent firm…

Read More

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