Gauging the Railroad Tracks by Zina Abbott

 

Originally, various railroad track gauges were used in the United States. Some railways, primarily in the northeast, used was called standard gauge, which was a span of four feet, eight and one-half inches (1,435 mm). Other railways used gauges ranging from two feet (610 mm) to six feet (1,829 mm). The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1863 specified standard gauge was to be used throughout the United States.

Where did this unusual width for parallel railroad tracks come from? Train technology was developed in Britain in about 1825. The new technology came to the United States the following year. Britain based the distance between the rails on the standard width of wagon ruts worn in the roads all over Europe, including the British Isles.

The reason these ruts tended to be uniform in distance from each other dates back to the time of the roads built by the Romans. Their chariots were built to be compatible with the width of a pair of warhorses. Since wagons ran into difficulty if their wheels did not fit inside existing ruts, that same gauge became the standard for wagons. Axles were built to accommodate the hubs of wheels so the rims would be four feet and eight and one-half inches.

 

During the Colonial period in North America, wagon sizes and widths followed the same standards as found in Europe—wherever the Roman roads and accompanying ruts played a role in transportation. Like Britain, the railroads followed the same pattern, including using what is known as standard gauge to determine the width between a pair of train rails.

There is a notable exception: Narrow gauge railroads built to allow trains to travel the windy mountain areas.

The Denver and Rio Grande Railway, which opened the mining and lumber operations of the Rocky Mountains to the rest of the country, was one such railroad. Later, much of the track was converted to standard gauge.

Narrow gauge railroads were used throughout the Sierra-Nevada Mountains, particularly for logging operations. The history of the Heisler #2 locomotive gives a picture of a narrow gauge locomotive used. From 1900-03, it was used by the Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley Railroad, mainly to transport logs to be cut into lumber. Then, from 1904-1960, the railroad’s name was changed to the West Side Flume and Lumber Company. There the locomotive played a vital role in timber production by working both the woods and the lumber company switchyard. This little workhorse was also used to push a wedge plow to keep the tracks clear of snow.

 

The narrow gauge Denver & Rio Grande Railway, where my heroine's father and the hero work, was mentioned in my recent Christmas romance, Lemon Cookies by Lisbeth, part of the Old Timey Holiday Kitchen series. To find the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE

 

 

 

In Phoebe, my Christmas romance in the Christmas Quilt Brides series, my hero—a proponent of the brand new automobile industry—compared the potential of motorcars to the progress of railroads from when they were first brought to the United States. He described a picture similar to the one above as compared to the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe standard gauge railroad in Oklahoma Territory. To find the book description and purchase options for Phoebe, please CLICK HERE

 

In my next publication, A Surprise for Christmas, part of the Confederate Widows, Spinsters and Proxy Brides series, my proxy bride travels by train shortly after the end of the American Civil War. She arrived in Topeka, Kansas, on the Kansas Pacific Railway, which used standard gauge tracks. This book is currently on pre-order and scheduled for release on December 9th. To find the book description and pre-order link, please CLICK HERE

 

 

 

Sources:

https://truewestmagazine.com/steam-engines/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_gauge_in_the_United_States

Tuolumne City Park Heisler #2 display, Tuolumne, California