Trail Baboon

Several major news organizations sent out false reports yesterday in their haste to be the first to tell you something had happened.

This is the anniversary of the start of the first passenger-carrying railway, the Swansea-Mumbles Railway in Wales in 1807. The tracks were laid to move limestone and other minerals to the docks at Swansea for shipping. The idea to retrofit a horse-drawn rail car to accommodate people was revolutionary. People apparently enjoyed the trip – the line continued for just over 150 years and in addition to equine locomotion, passengers through the decades enjoyed traveling under power provided by steam, sails, and electricity.