Tag: transportation

  • How the RMS Titanic Sank

    On 14 April 1912—that is 100 years—RMS Titanic avoided slamming bow-on into an iceberg. But her turn allowed the iceberg to slice a long gash beneath the waterline and the North Atlantic gushed into watertight compartment after watertight compartment. Several hours later over 1500 people would be dead. The BBC has published several articles about…

  • Setting the Stage for the Sinking of RMS Titanic

    Saturday will be the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. She struck an iceberg just before midnight—at the time the crew thought merely as a glancing blow—and within three hours she would be headed towards the seabed. By the time the survivors were all picked up, over 1500 people would die in…

  • Delivery Routes

    Sunday in the New York Times, an article on bicycle delivery had an accompanying infographic. It detailed the dinner route of the article’s main individual. The piece is an interesting use of small multiples to provide a timeline of a route, while each new delivery maintains the old paths for reference. And from a data…

  • Fatal Passenger Train Derailment

    Sunday afternoon in Burlington, Canada, a VIA passenger train—think Canada’s version of Amtrak—derailed shortly after switching tracks. The two engineers in the locomotive and their trainee died in the accident, which is still under investigation. The National Post covered the story and included a few graphics to explain just what happened. Maps pointed out exactly…

  • Replacing the Bay Bridge for the Long Term

    Bridges are vital parts of infrastructure networks connecting two separate pieces of territory, but often they can be choke points. Damage to a bridge can result to isolation at worst and at best long, circuitous reroutes that add significant time to travel. In the San Francisco area authorities are building a new bridge to replace…

  • How the Costa Concordia Sank

    The Costa Concordia sank nearly a week ago, but the questions of exactly how and why she sank will likely linger for much longer. The BBC has had extensive coverage of the story, including this page that details what is known about how and why the cruise ship sank.

  • China’s Secret Nuclear Missile Tunnel System

    I do not often get the chance to post illustrative works. But, the Washington Post reported on the work of Georgetown students that shows how China has tunneled thousands of miles of, well, tunnels to create a secret labyrinth for their nuclear weapons programme. The result is that instead of the few dozen warheads that…

  • The New York City Marathon

    Something I’ve been meaning to put up for a little while, the New York Times’ coverage of that city’s marathon and changes in the socioeconomic composition of the neighbourhoods through which the course winds. The piece includes a narrated motion graphic explaining the changes along a map of the course, while a series of charts…

  • Curiosity

    In just a few days, NASA’s next Martian rover, Curiosity, will lift off for a 2012 date with the Martian surface. The Washington Post has a two-part motion graphic piece to look at the rover’s landing and scientific components. Credit for the piece goes to Alberto Cuadra, Sohail Al-Jamea, and Andrew Pergram.

  • Maps of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

    The Democratic Republic of the Congo is preparing for elections at the end of the month. For decades since independence from Belgium, the country has been beset by insurrection and civil war. Eastern portions of the country are all lawless and beyond the control of the government in the capital Kinshasa. Yet, DR Congo, which…