[3] The battle of the gauges Part 1

In the early days, each railroad built its track at whatever gauge it pleased and then built its engines and cars to fit that gauge. The tracks at the Killingworth Colliery, for which George Stephenson built his first locomotive the Blocher, happened to be 4 feet 8 inches (1.42 meters) between rails, so Stephenson built his locomotive for this gauge. When he designed the Stockton and Darlington he made the locomotive the same width but added another half inch (1.3 centimeters) to the width of track. This odd measurement of 4 feet 81/2 inches (1.44 meters) in time came to be known as standard gauge. Other tracks in England ranged between 2 and 7 feet (0.6 and 2.1 meters). The famous English engineer Brunel considered that the (чем) broader the gauge, the (тем) easily would the trains run. Following his advice the Great Western Company had constructed the railway network with a gauge of 7 feet. That is why for many years there were 2 gauges in England: the 7 feet suggested by Brunel and 4 feet 8½ inches, offered by Stephenson. It was inconvenient because where there was a break of gauges, delay was caused and time was wasted. Angry people wrote to the newspapers and demanded to change the broad gauge. “The Battle of the Gauges” lasted more than 30 years. Only in 1892 in the House of Commons* the broad gauge was described as a “national evil”, and it was decided to convert all the railways to the standard gauge.

Part 2

In the United States the early railroad tracks ranged from 3 to 6 feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters) in width. This variance became unacceptable with the demand for connecting lines and through service. Freight soon began to move longer distances and over the lines of more than one railroad. The differences in gauges forced the costly nuisance of unloading and reloading cars. Most of the lines in the area between New York City and Chicago were of nearly the same gauge—between 4 feet 8 inches and 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 meters). Thus, in the 1860s, arrangements were made to use cars specially equipped with broad-tread wheels that could be used on any of these widths. About the same time, the movement toward standardization of the 4 feet 81/2 inch, or Stephenson, gauge received great encouragement when the United States Congress adopted it for the new Pacific railroad. By the mid-1880s there was virtually a double standard of gauge in the United States. In the North and West the Stephenson gauge prevailed, while most of the South used a gauge of 5 feet (1.52 meters). Starting in 1886, the Southern lines narrowed their tracks to the now standard gauge of 4 feet 81/2 inches. This uniformity soon ensured an uninterrupted flow of commerce over the entire nation. Standard gauge is also used in Canada, Mexico, and Cuba, which was once linked with railroads on the mainland by freight-car ferry. No other continent has a comparable standardization, however.

Note: *the House of Commons – Палата Общин