Just why the Darlington Collery line was originally built to 4'
8-1/2" is of course totally lost to history.
Denny,
The reason isn't as lost in history as you might think. The Darlington had what
they called a 5 foot guage. The difference was that the British measured the
"gauge" from the outside edge of the rail heads. We (here in the US) measure
the gauge on the inside edges. With that said, the combined width of the rail
head at that time was 3.5 inches or 1.75" per rail.
Tom Koch
Director of National Accounts
ADTRAN, Inc.
Toll Free: (877) 591-3051
--------------------------
|