Subject:
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Re: More scale questions (Was: Scale of Lego)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains, lugnet.build
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Date:
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Sun, 31 Oct 1999 10:25:51 GMT
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Viewed:
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23 times
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On Sun, 31 Oct 1999, Larry Pieniazek (<381B94A8.BB6DD135@voyager.net>)
wrote at 01:00:24
> One nit I had heard in this story is that original gauge is 4 ft 8
> rather than 4 8 1/2... when the first engines were imported here to the
> states the gauge was widened a bit to allow for sloppy tolerances.
>
> Depending on who you listen to that was either done in the 1830s, or the
> 1/2 inch add was done by Lincoln when authorizing the transcontinental
> railroad in 1861.
Interesting. Standard Gauge is definitely 4' 8 1/2" in the UK, and I
thought it always was. Back in the 1800s Britain was Top Dog, so I can't
imagine it being changed to keep up with the Americans :-)
I think that when the first railways were built, they were all around
the same gauge.
When it came to joining them up, a national standard was set which was
the average of the local standards (presumably weighted towards those
with the most track), hence the extra 1/2 inch to stop some trains
falling into the middle :-)
--
Tony Priestman
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: More scale questions (Was: Scale of Lego)
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| I can't provide the proof, I spent some time digging fruitlessly but I seem to recall reading in a book somewhere as a child that England was 4' 8" and America was the extra 1/2 inch wider. As to gauge conversions, my understanding of the US (...) (25 years ago, 31-Oct-99, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.build)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: More scale questions (Was: Scale of Lego)
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| Cool. Most of this story has been around for a while, thanks for sharing. One nit I had heard in this story is that original gauge is 4 ft 8 rather than 4 8 1/2... when the first engines were imported here to the states the gauge was widened a bit (...) (25 years ago, 31-Oct-99, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.build)
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