Greetings,

What would a thread be without controversy, so...

I've read this same account in several places and, while there may be something to it, I don't think it is the definitive story.

When railroads were first getting started, each one picked its own gauge -- anywhere from 2 feet to over 5 feet wide. With the start of the Civil War, the country felt a compelling need to integrate its rail system for the first time. A group of rail and government officials met to decide on a standard and they went with 4 foot 8 and a half inches. I've heard that they picked the chariot standard as a way of settling the dispute with a neutral measure.

However, consider that the transcontinental railway, which was started before the Civil War, picked the engineering standards of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as the standard for the new project. As a leading railroad of its day, this also pushed the decision in favor of 4 foot 8 and half inches.

Despite the standard, many narrow gauge lines continued to operate (the East Broad Top Railroad in PA continued as a 3-foot gauge into the mid 50s and continues today as a tourist line). Narrow gauge lines were the compact trucks of their day and offered economies in the construction of right-of-way and equipment -- especially where bridges and tunnels were concerned. But they still required the same manpower to operate and the proportional decrease in tonnage per labor dollar made them innevitably less profitable. Still, they made sense around docks, mines, forests and other tight areas.

Now, for your assignment, please turn to page...


Thanks,

Rod

 

AWWWWH!!! POOH,ya just burst my bubble,just when we were doing so good.I like the first story better!




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Gee Rod, I suppose next you're gonna say there's no Santa Clause.

 

YOU ARE KIDDING AREN"T YOU.What a cruel joke.NO SANTA NO WAY!!!!!!!!

 

So I should not be holding my
breath, expecting those two new
quads to appear under the tree.
Bah Humbug! I say SO!