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RAILWAY BASICS 119
Development of the Standard Rail Gauge System
Arail road gauge is the space between rails. Canada adopted the gauge of Britain because the first Canadian trains were made in Britain. The first public railway between two major cities was built by the English civil engineer George Stephenson, who designed the Stockton to Darlington railway in 1825. He used a gauge of 4’ 8’’ (4ft 8in), the measure common for English roadways at that time.
Stephenson also used this measurement because of his familiarity with a mine tramway in Newcastle that was using the same proportions. For the run between Liverpool and Manchester in 1830, Stephenson increased the size of the gauge by one-half inch. It is suspected that lateral play to the langes was increased, resulting in a smoother operation. From then on, most steam engines throughout Britain, North America and Western Europe ran on what quickly became known as the standard gauge.
Late in 1870, archeological excavations in Pompeii revealed that the Romans had used a similar gauge for the ruts for their chariots and carts. Rumors had it that Julius Caesar systemized ruts for his war chariots. Walton E. Evans, an American engineer, was determined to prove this postulation. He set out to measure the ruts of the antiquated chariots and found that the ruts from centre to centre were
about 4’ 9’’. This became the custom gauge for the Romans and it subsequently spread into Western Europe. his evidence reveals that the current “standard gauge” evolved from the established gauge of the Roman Empire.
he British railway historian Charles E. Lee suspected that the Romans determined their gauge as being roughly equal to the maximum weight a Roman horse could pull. Yet the standard railway gauge was not formed to cater to horses. Human beings are the most relevant reason for today’s standard gauge.
Considering the average size of human beings, a gauge of 4’ 82 works quite well. his gauge permits passengers to sit beside each other comfortably on both sides of the train. It created a compact, yet appropriate and comfortable space for travellers.
Gauge: 4’ 8.5’’
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