From [REDACTED]-approval@world.std.com Tue Mar 1 09:02 PST 1994 X-VM-v5-Data: ([nil nil t nil nil nil nil nil nil] ["4160" "Tue" " 1" "March" "1994" "10:06:57" "-0500" "Andrew B. Jones" "ajones@world.std.com" nil "108" "Getting railroaded into an backward compatable MIL SPEC" "^From:" nil nil "3" nil nil]) X-VM-v5-Data: ([nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil] ["4160" "Tue" " 1" "March" "1994" "10:06:57" "-0500" "Andrew B. Jones" "ajones@world.std.com" nil "108" "Getting railroaded into an backward compatable MIL SPEC" "^From:" nil nil "3" nil nil]) Status: RO Return-Path: <[REDACTED]-approval@world.std.com> Received: from kaleida.com (talisman.kaleida.com) by wastelands.eng (5.0/SMI-SVR4) id AA01222; Tue, 1 Mar 1994 09:02:31 +0800 Received: from relay1.UU.NET by kaleida.com (4.1/Spike-2.1-(Kaleida)) id AA05731; Tue, 1 Mar 94 09:02:32 PST Received: from world.std.com by relay1.UU.NET with SMTP (5.61/UUNET-internet-primary) id AAwfjf08151; Tue, 1 Mar 94 11:50:54 -0500 Received: by world.std.com (5.65c/Spike-2.0) id AA29211; Tue, 1 Mar 1994 11:19:08 -0500 Received: from sparc31.hri.com by world.std.com (5.65c/Spike-2.0) id AA29181; Tue, 1 Mar 1994 11:19:05 -0500 Received: by sparc31.hri.com (5.65+/1.0c) id AA04089; Tue, 1 Mar 94 11:18:57 -0500 Message-Id: <9403011618.AA04089@sparc31.hri.com> Sender: [REDACTED]-approval@world.std.com Content-Type: text Content-Length: 4160 From: Andrew B Jones To: [REDACTED]@world.std.com Subject: Getting railroaded into an backward compatable MIL SPEC Date: Tue, 1 Mar 1994 10:06:57 -0500 (EST) Precedence: bulk Reply-To: [REDACTED]@world.std.com ---------- Forwarded message ---------- [Forwards curtailed] Subject: US Standard Railroad Gauge or How MilSpecs Live Forever From: Bill Innanen US Standard Railroad Gauge or How MilSpecs Live Forever - -------------------------- The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 ft 8 1/2 in (1.44 m). That's an exceedingly odd number. Why is that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and the US railroads were built by English ex patriots. Why did the English build 'em like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did *they* use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools as they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. OK! Why did the wagons use that wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing the wagons would break on some of the old, long distance roads, because that's the spacing of the ruts. So who built these old rutted roads? The first long distance roads in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been used ever since. And the ruts? The initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of breaking their wagons, were first made by Roman war chariots. Since the chariots were made by or for Imperial Rome they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing (ruts again). Thus we have the answer to the original question. The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 ft 8 1/2 in derives from the original military specification (MilSpec) for an Imperial Roman army war chariot. MisSpecs (and bureaucracies) live forever! - ----- End Included Message ----- And the followup: From: abennett@MIT.EDU From: Espacionaute Spiff domaine! From: tooch@auspex.com (Mike Tuciarone) Fascinating. I showed this to my wife, medieval studies major and horsewoman, who points out that the spacing of wheels on the Roman chariot was like as not dictated by the width of the yoke that attached the chariot to the horse, and the need to keep the wheel ruts well out of the path of the loose earth the hooves are kicking up. Thus, the gauge of the Iron Horse might be in fact derived from the width of the standard Roman warhorse. ------- End of Forwarded Message More followup: Subject: Lincoln vs. 4 ft. 8 1/2 in. From: Tim Hill I recall reading many years ago that, when asked to approve the standardization of the US railroad gauge, President Lincoln asked why it was such an odd number. Not satisfied with "gosh, I don't know, I guess 'cause that's the way they do it in England," Lincoln did a little research himself and learned about the Roman chariot ruts. The president didn't see this as sufficient reason for setting such a peculiar standard and proposed a 5 ft. 0 in. gauge. Of course, the beauraucracy got its way. - Tim [Well, the standard gauge was settled a few years after Lincoln's death (1873?). The ``bureaucracy got its way'' partly because forcing a change would have required rebuilding the rail-link across the Rockies. Widening the gauge (even by four inches) would have required widening ledges and tunnels that were hard to carve out of the mountains in the first place. As it was, at least one railroad managed to change something like 1800 miles of track one Sunday. It wasn't the bureaucracy, it was the railroads. Before the advent of the standard guage, freight would be loaded into railroad cars at the factory, then transferred from one car to another every time it crossed from one railway to the next. The standard gauge allowed one car to go from origin to final destination without being unloaded. A wider gauge is actually better --- trains can go faster and remain stable. Isambard Kingdom Brunel built the Great Western Railway with a SEVEN FOOT gauge. Passengers could sit nine abreast in the cars. There, can you tell that my almost five year old is interested in trains? Ask me about standard time, sometime. --- dm]