Reply to: Here's An Interesting History Lesson Or Review.

[TheFaQQer]

Well to make it the correct length it's obviously....

to be sawn, to be sawn, to be sawn

until it is 4ft 8 1/2ins

[Ardesco]

It's not 4ft 8 1/2ins...

Well to make it the correct length it's obviously....

to be sawn, to be sawn, to be sawn

until it is 4ft 8 1/2ins

[BrowneIssue]

Your point is......

"n. 17 (usu. in pl.) pair of movable tapering rails that allow a train to pass from one line to another." Pocket Oxford Dictionary 1994

HTH

[Ardesco]

How interesting.

The Irish Gauge is 5ft 3in...

And an Irish corner is straight. Your point is......

[daviejones]

Don't you know the rules? Drivel gets posted in TPD.

It wasn't drivel until you joined in...

[NotAllThere]

Is this STILL doing the rounds?

False.

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/gauge.asp

Snopes do qualify the false label.

True, but for trivial and unremarkable reasons

[sasguru]

I posted it as a topic of discussion, miserable fookers!!!!!

Don't you know the rules? Drivel gets posted in TPD.

[monkeyboy]

Did you know the word gullible isn't in the dictionary?

HTH

It isn't?

[Moose423956]

Did you know that if they laid all the railroad tracks in this country end-to-end, it would help.

IGMC

[BoredBloke]

Actually I'd say much of what they say in their response to the original story backs up the original story.

They state that the English did not build the US railways but the US did import the technology to do so - this was based on the English gauge. The gauge was based on the width of a carriage because it was carriages which were adapted for use. So the carriage being based on the width of 2 horses was used to determine the UK gauge and as a result the US one. Due to its popularity after the US Civil war it is this UK gauge which was adopted as the standard for the US.

It also states 'railroads don't run through tunnels only slightly wider than the railroad tracks'. This is wrong - they do. Tunnelling is expensive. How many rail tunnels are a mile wide. None! Why? Because there are no mile wide trains. Tunnels are built with a view to what is going to travel through them. This is one of the reasons why we can’t run double deck trains in the UK as we would have to enlarge all the tunnels

[daviejones]

Did you know the word gullible isn't in the dictionary?

HTH

I posted it as a topic of discussion, miserable fookers!!!!!

[sasguru]

I just got it in email...haven't seen it before though...

Did you know the word gullible isn't in the dictionary?

HTH

[Spacecadet]

did you also forward it to all of your friends and post it on facebook?

[daviejones]

Is this STILL doing the rounds?

False.

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/gauge.asp

I just got it in email...haven't seen it before though...

[BrowneIssue]

Is this STILL doing the rounds?

False.

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/gauge.asp