Re: (erielack) The Piermont Branch

["Bill K." <"pontiac_@_dreamscape.com">]

I recall some TV show on the History Channel I think..   That explained the
reason for the use of the odd 4' 8.5" guage used by modern railroads.  
Seems that the English built the earliest rail systems to use existing
carriages (or on existing roads), which were built to use the roads that
existed at the time.  The roads were rutted from use so most carriages had
to have the wheels spaced to fit them.   It seems they got this way during
the Roman invasion (or attempt thereof, my memory on this part of history
is fuzzy) from the Roman chariots.  Those chariots were built to their
width - so that 2 horses would fit between the rails and wheels.    So the
modern track guage is the width of two horses' asses, side by side.

(apologies if this is a repetition of something posted in the past) ....

Now where did the 6' guage come from I wonder?


Bill K.


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- ----------
> From: Schuyler G Larrabee <"sgl2_@_ix.netcom.com">
> To: "STGCOMM_@_aol.com"; erielack@internexus.net
> Subject: Re: (erielack) The Piermont Branch
> Date: Friday, January 14, 2000 11:41 PM
> 
> 
> "STGCOMM_@_aol.com" wondered:
> 
> >  Why did the Erie go with 6' gauge to begin with
> > (Was standard gauge not established in the US yet)?
> 
> Um, yeah.  You DO know, don't you, that the Erie was one of the first
> railroads in the US?  In the 1830's, they didn't know from standard gauge

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End of Erielack Digest V2 #576
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