A winter service vehicle (WSV), or snow removal vehicle, is a vehicle specially designed or adapted to clear thoroughfares of ice and snow. Winter service vehicles are usually based on a dump truckchassis, with adaptations allowing them to carry specially designed snow removal equipment. Many authorities also use smaller vehicles on sidewalks, footpaths, and cycleways. Road maintenance agencies and contractors in temperate or polar areas often own several winter service vehicles, using them to keep the roads clear of snow and ice and safe for driving during winter. Airports use winter service vehicles to keep both aircraft surfaces, and runways and taxiways free of snow and ice, which, besides endangering aircraft takeoff and landing, can interfere with the aerodynamics of the craft.
The earliest winter service vehicles were snow rollers, designed to maintain a smooth, even road surface for sleds, although horse-drawnsnowplows and gritting vehicles are recorded in use as early as 1862. The increase in motor car traffic and aviation in the early 20th century led to the development and popularisation of large motorised winter service vehicles. (Full article...)
Image 14Swiss & German co-production: world's first functional diesel–electric railcar 1914 (from Rail transport)
Image 150-Series Shinkansen, introduced in 1964, triggered the intercity train travel boom. (from Rail transport)
Image 16German soldiers in a railway car on the way to the front in August 1914. The message on the car reads Von München über Metz nach Paris ("From Munich via Metz to Paris"). (from Rail transport)
Image 21Bronocice pot with the earliest known image of a wheeled vehicle in the world, found in Poland (from Transport)
Image 22San Diego Trolley over Interstate 8 (from Road transport)
Image 23Bulk cargo of minerals on a train (from Rail transport)
Image 24First powered and controlled flight by the Wright brothers, December 17, 1903 (from Aviation)
Image 25Map of world railway network as of 2022 (from Rail transport)
Image 26A cast iron fishbelly edge rail manufactured by Outram at the Butterley Company for the Cromford and High Peak Railway in 1831; these are smooth edge rails for wheels with flanges. (from Rail transport)
Image 45According to Eurostat and the European Railway Agency, the fatality risk for passengers and occupants on European railways is 28 times lower when compared with car usage (based on data by EU-27 member nations, 2008–2010). (from Rail transport)
Image 46A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Rail transport)
Image 47Bardon Hill box in England (seen here in 2009) is a Midland Railway box dating from 1899, although the original mechanical lever frame has been replaced by electrical switches. (from Rail transport)
Image 53The Great North Road near High gate on the approach to London before turnpiking. The highway was deeply rutted and spread onto adjoining land. (from Road transport)
... that a section of Mississippi Highway 489 was designated as the Jason Boyd Memorial Highway to commemorate the MDOT superintendent who was killed while removing debris from the road?
... that United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wrote an essay in 2000 on Bernie Sanders, his future competitor in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries?