LEGO SYSTEM Trains : 17489


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Subject:	Re: Very funny bit of information on the guage of American Railroads (Not directly LEGO related)
Newsgroups:	lugnet.trains, lugnet.castle, lugnet.space
Date:	Wed, 28 Aug 2002 22:00:19 GMT
Viewed:	952 times

In lugnet.trains, Leonard Erlandson writes: > Why don't you think the Romans had war chariots? Or do you mean they just > didn't call them "war chariots" but something else. I'm pretty sure the Romans > had a military chariot. None that I am aware of, though I suppose it is possible that they used available ones as auxilliaries in the middle east or those of Briton allies. But Rome itself didn't use chariots. The terrain of Italy was not particularly conducive to chariot tactics and Rome was an infantry power through all its wars of consolidation of Italy, the Republic and on into the late Imperial age, when they shifted to a greater reliance on cavalry. Certainly they had chariots for personal conveyance, and perhaps that's really what they mean except for one too many viewing of History As Told By Hollywood. I'm not actually disputing the crux of the story, just some finnagling little details. As for the ruts in paved road, it can happen. I've > seen ruts several inches deep in solid rock caused by the repetitive erosion > from wagon train wheels here in the US. Romans maintained their roads, though at some point I'm sure that broke down. I have not been to Europe, so I do not know the state of the old Roman roads beyond that they are still often used due to their excellent construction. In any case, the point would be that in the time the ruts standardized wheel spacing, it would have happened on non-roman roads (non-paved roads). The story flows better by bringing in the Roman road-building angle, but it gives the wrong impression about the roads built for the swift movement of imperial armies. Bruce

Message has 2 Replies:

		Re: Very funny bit of information on the guage of American Railroads (Not directly LEGO related)
(...) Hmmm... I can confirm that there are indeed some ruts in paved roman roads, although I cannot confirm if these date from the Roman Era (like you say, there has been a continuous usage of some roman roads). What I can say is, in long (...) (22 years ago, 28-Aug-02, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.castle, lugnet.space)

		Re: Very funny bit of information on the guage of American Railroads (Not directly LEGO related)
(...) Another misconception. There are some old roman roads around, but largely only in areas where there is no heavy traffic, or ever has been - e.g. up to or inside preserved large houses, walled towns etc. What is used is the route. The Romans (...) (22 years ago, 29-Aug-02, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.castle, lugnet.space)

Message is in Reply To:

		Re: Very funny bit of information on the guage of American Railroads (Not directly LEGO related)
(...) Why don't you think the Romans had war chariots? Or do you mean they just didn't call them "war chariots" but something else. I'm pretty sure the Romans had a military chariot. As for the ruts in paved road, it can happen. I've seen ruts (...) (22 years ago, 28-Aug-02, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.castle, lugnet.space)

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