Seems to me that I read the Florida East Coast was originally 4'-8".
There were some 4'-10" gauge lines, and I think the Strasburg was 4'-9".
On Wed, 31 Jul 2002, Feldman, Robert wrote:
> Not really. According to http://www.railway.org/railroadgauge.htm, one of
> several railroad gauges used in England by George Stephenson, and the one
> that became popular in the US (over the objection, in a way, of President
> Lincoln, who proposed a 5' gauge), was based on a 5 foot spacing of cart
> wheels. Subtracting 2 inches for each rail gave 4'8". Stevenson later
> widened the spacing by 1/2" because (for unspecified reasons), that worked
> better.
>
> See also A.W. Worth's reported comments in
> http://www.spikesys.com/Trains/st_gauge.html; and
> http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000218.html
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sellam Ismail [mailto:foo_at_siconic.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 5:14 AM
> To: cctalk_at_classiccmp.org
> Subject: OT: Horse's ass
>
> <snip>
>
> So it is not myth.
>
> Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer
> Festival
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
M. K. Peirce
Rhode Island Computer Museum, Inc.
Shady Lea, Rhode Island
"Casta est quam nemo rogavit."
- Ovid
Received on Wed Jul 31 2002 - 16:56:01 BST