On October 7, 1826, the Granite Railway began operations. It was the first chartered railway in the United States. It was built to carry granite from a quarry in Quincy, Massachusetts, to a dock on the Neponset River in Milton. From there, boats carried the heavy stone to Charlestown, for construction of the Bunker Hill Monument. The railway ran three miles (4.8 km) from quarries to the Neponset River. Its wagons had wheels 6 ft (1.83 m) in diameter and were pulled by horses. Pictured is the railway’s incline section, photographed in 1934.
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On October 7, 1909, the British Security Service, commonly known as MI5 (Military Intelligence, Section 5), was formed as part of the Secret Service Bureau. The agency is tasked with domestic counter-intelligence and security. It is now headquartered at Thames House, in London. The service is sometimes jokingly called “Box” or “Box 500″, in reference to its wartime address at P.O. Box 500, London.
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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest
Today we present another entry for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
- A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
- A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
- American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
- HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
- Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is offering a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the
Second Prize:
- A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
- A $269 retail value survival-ready power package from Solar Power Lifestyle. This includes two Solar Power Lifestyle 25W Portable Solar Panels, plus a $150 gift card to use for any purchase at solarpowerlifestyle.com.
- Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!
Third Prize:
- A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
- Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
- A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
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More than $970,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 121 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.
Read the full article here