Energy Timeline
By Layla Bellissimo
Transportation
In this section were going to cover
transportation. I asked my relatives about how
they used transportation when they were 11
years old. Enjoy the next few slides about the
past.
Dad- 1964
My dad was born in 1964. When he was 11 years
old he used to ride his bike everywhere to
conserve energy. When it was cold out he drove
in his parent’s country squire wagon.
Mom- 1968
My mom was born in 1968. When she was 11
years old she rode her bike everywhere. When
she didn’t ride her bike she roller-skated. My
mom likes to exercise.
Grandma-1933
My grandma was born in 1933. When she was 11
years old she used horses to get around. Her
parents owned a couple but, back then who
didn’t? She also used camels. (she didn’t live
here).
Grandpa-1934
My grandpa was born in 1934. When he was 11
years old he rode camels and horses. He always
had dreams about getting a bike, but he never
did.
Transportation Timeline
1769- Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built the first self propelled vehicle in France. It was a
military tractor that ran on steam, but it only went 2.5 mph!
1787- John Fitch successfully tested his invention, a 45 ft. steamboat in the Delaware
River.
1832-39- Robert Anderson built the first electric car in Scotland.
1840- The Railroad was getting started with only 3,000 miles of track.
1870-By 1870 railroads were built from coast to coast. Railroad companies still built
hundreds of thousands of miles of new track for the next 30 years. Railroads provided
a connection between rural areas and cities that allowed farmers to sell their produce
in far away places for better profits.
1880-1905-Electric street cars and trolley systems were built in Washington, DC, and
also in other U.S. cities. Streetcars made it easier to travel farther distances, and
encouraged the development of new suburbs farther away.
Transportation Timeline
1885-86-Karl Benz built the first gasoline- powered automobile in Germany. It was a three
wheeler.
1876-95-George Selden invented a patented a horseless carriage powered by an internal
combustion engine, in the U.S.. This was a great invention although it never got
manufactured.
1893- The Duryea brothers Frank and Charles, had started the very first U.S. car company.
They produced a gasoline powered limousine until 1920.
1908- Henry Ford produced the first Model T car. It was designed to use ethanol, gasoline,
or both. Also, cities began to switch from streetcars to buses for public transportation.
1910- The St. Petersburg’s Tampa Airboat line was America’s first airline. Too bad the
company went out of business after only 3 months.
1918- The U.S. Post Office used airplanes to take the mail in order to make an air
transportation system. On May 15th, Lt. James Edgerton flew the mail from Philadelphia to
Washington during the first scheduled air mail flight.
Transportation Timeline
1920-Americans now owned 8 million cars, the cars were Model T’s and Ford Motor
company was manufacturing them in large numbers.
1927-The Airline business got started when the U.S. Post Office turned over to air mail
delivery for Private Companies. Charles Lindbergh was the first lone pilot to fly
nonstop from New York to Paris. His plane was named the “Spirit Of St. Louis”.
1944-Rail Travel grew decently during World War II, Reaching a new record of 98
billion passengers.
1950-With Americans now owning 50 million cars, oil suppressed coal as the country’s
number 1 fuel source.
1955-Now since the war was over, more people traveled by plane than by train.
1956- Malcom Mclean, a trucking magnate, loaded trailers onto a ship and sent them
by sea for less than the cost of trucking them overland. He was credited with shipping
the first load of containers aboard the cargo ship, from New Jersey to Texas.
President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which made the
Transportation Timeline
1958-Pan American ushered in the Jet age with the Boeing 707. The Jet age started
when airlines began to replace propeller planes with jet planes. Jet planes had far less
moving parts therefore they were more reliable, safe, and cheaper to operate. They
also used kerosene which was less expensive than gasoline and they made huge
thrust for their weight.
1969- 80% of working men and 86% of working woman could drive.
1970- The Boeing 747 was the very first jumbo jet with 4 engines and 400 seats.
Freight moved by train surpassed the World War ll peak of 771 billion ton miles.
1971-Congress relived railroads of running passenger trains. Amtrak the National
Railroad Passenger Corporation started operations in 1971 taking over long distance
train service from nearly all of the rail carriers.
1974-President Richard Nixon signed the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation
Act of 1974 part of a nationwide effort to reduce oil consumption.
Transportation Timeline
1978-The Energy Tax Act of 1978 made a gas guzzler tax, a tax for ranging from 1,000
to 7,700 per vehicle on gas guzzling automobiles. President Jimmy Carter signed the
Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, which increased competition among airlines.
1979-New car fleets were to have an overall average of 18 miles per gallon of gasoline.
1980-President Jimmy Carter signed the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 and the Motor
Carrier Act of 1980, efforts to deregulate the railroad and trucking industries.
1985-New cars and light trucks were required to meet a Corporate Average Fuel
Economy (CAFE) Standard for fuel economy of 27.5 miles per gallon.
1990-95% of working men could drive, compared with 80% in 1969; moreover, 86% of
working women could drive, compared to 61% in 1969.
1994-The Trucking Industry Regulatory Reform Act of 1994 continued the deregulation
of the trucking industry.
Transportation Timeline
1995-As compared with 1990, now 88% of working men could drive, down from 95%,
and 80% of working women could drive, down from 86%. By 1995, 80% of households
had at least one vehicle per driver.
1999-The first hybrid electric vehicle, powered by both a rechargeable battery and
gasoline, became available in the United States.
2000-Americans owned 220 million cars.
2001-A total of 98.8 million households (92%) owned or possessed a light-duty vehicle
(cars, small trucks, or motorcycles).
2003-Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) accounted for 27% of all light-duty vehicle sales, up
6.8% from 1990.
2005-Trucking accounted for 65% of energy used for transporting freight. Water
transportation accounted for 18%, natural gas pipelines for 9%, and Class I railroads for
8%.
Transportation Timeline
2007-The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 set a new corporate average
fleet efficiency (CAFE) standard for cars and light trucks. The new standard requires
car makers to meet a fleet wide average of at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020, a 40%
increase over the old standard. The Energy Independence and Security Act also set
renewable fuel standards requiring an increase in the use of ethanol blended into
gasoline. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized new CAFE standards
for light trucks, to be phased in by 2011.