Is this true?

I received this little gem in my inbox today.

Anyone know if this is true or just another "urban legend"


DON'T BE AFRAID TO CHALLENGE THE SYSTEM!

Does "we've always done it that way" ring any bells?

The U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4' 8.5".
Why that gauge you might ask? Because that's the gauge in England. English
expatriates built the U.S. railroads. Why did the English build them like
that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built
the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did they use
that gauge? Because the people who built tramways used the same jigs and
tools they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. Why did
the wagons have that wheel spacing? That was the spacing on the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long
distance roads in Europe for their legions. The roads have been used ever
since.

The ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which
everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since
the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in wheel
spacing. The U. S. standard railroad gauge of 4' 8.5" is derived from the
original specifications for a Roman war chariot. The next time you get a
spec and are told we have always done it that way and wonder what horse's
BUTT came up with that, you may be exactly right because the Roman chariots
were made wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.

Now the twist to the story.... When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its
launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the side of the
main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters (SRBs) The SRBs are made by
Thiokol at their factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs would
have preferred to make them fatter but the SRBs had to be shipped by train
from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory runs
through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel.
The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad
track, as you know is as wide as two horses' behinds. So amazingly, a major
Space Shuttle design feature of what is the world's most advanced
transportation system was determined over 2,000 years ago by the width of a
Horse's backside. And you thought being a horse's butt wasn't important!

"Doctor Bombay" wrote in message
...
I received this little gem in my inbox today.

Anyone know if this is true or just another "urban legend"

Do a google on it.



DON'T BE AFRAID TO CHALLENGE THE SYSTEM!

Does "we've always done it that way" ring any bells?

The U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4' 8.5".
Why that gauge you might ask? Because that's the gauge in England. English
expatriates built the U.S. railroads. Why did the English build them like
that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built
the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did they
use
that gauge? Because the people who built tramways used the same jigs and
tools they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. Why
did
the wagons have that wheel spacing? That was the spacing on the wheel
ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long
distance roads in Europe for their legions. The roads have been used ever
since.

The ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which
everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels.
Since
the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in wheel
spacing. The U. S. standard railroad gauge of 4' 8.5" is derived from the
original specifications for a Roman war chariot. The next time you get a
spec and are told we have always done it that way and wonder what horse's
BUTT came up with that, you may be exactly right because the Roman
chariots
were made wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.

Now the twist to the story.... When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its
launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the side of the
main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters (SRBs) The SRBs are made
by
Thiokol at their factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs
would
have preferred to make them fatter but the SRBs had to be shipped by train
from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory
runs
through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that
tunnel.
The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad
track, as you know is as wide as two horses' behinds. So amazingly, a
major
Space Shuttle design feature of what is the world's most advanced
transportation system was determined over 2,000 years ago by the width of
a
Horse's backside. And you thought being a horse's butt wasn't important!

"Greg D. Moore (Strider)" wrote in message
...

"Doctor Bombay" wrote in message
...
I received this little gem in my inbox today.

Anyone know if this is true or just another "urban legend"

Do a google on it.
Thats why I ask you, so I dont have to do a "google on it"





DON'T BE AFRAID TO CHALLENGE THE SYSTEM!

Does "we've always done it that way" ring any bells?

The U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4'
8.5".
Why that gauge you might ask? Because that's the gauge in England.
English
expatriates built the U.S. railroads. Why did the English build them
like
that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who
built
the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did they
use
that gauge? Because the people who built tramways used the same jigs and
tools they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. Why
did
the wagons have that wheel spacing? That was the spacing on the wheel
ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long
distance roads in Europe for their legions. The roads have been used
ever
since.

The ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which
everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels.
Since
the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in wheel
spacing. The U. S. standard railroad gauge of 4' 8.5" is derived from
the
original specifications for a Roman war chariot. The next time you get a
spec and are told we have always done it that way and wonder what
horse's
BUTT came up with that, you may be exactly right because the Roman
chariots
were made wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.

Now the twist to the story.... When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on
its
launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the side of
the
main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters (SRBs) The SRBs are made
by
Thiokol at their factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs
would
have preferred to make them fatter but the SRBs had to be shipped by
train
from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory
runs
through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that
tunnel.
The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad
track, as you know is as wide as two horses' behinds. So amazingly, a
major
Space Shuttle design feature of what is the world's most advanced
transportation system was determined over 2,000 years ago by the width
of
a
Horse's backside. And you thought being a horse's butt wasn't important!

Doctor Bombay wrote:

"Greg D. Moore (Strider)" wrote in message
"Doctor Bombay" wrote in message
snip
Anyone know if this is true or just another "urban legend"

Do a google on it.

Thats why I ask you, so I dont have to do a "google on it"


try checking www.snopes.com, specifically

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

And trim your posts while you're at it, please.
--
Hugh - to reply, don't c me

"Doctor Bombay" wrote in message
...

"Greg D. Moore (Strider)" wrote in message
...

"Doctor Bombay" wrote in message
...
I received this little gem in my inbox today.

Anyone know if this is true or just another "urban legend"

Do a google on it.
Thats why I ask you, so I dont have to do a "google on it"

In other words you're lazy and want us to do the work. Where do I send my
invoice?







DON'T BE AFRAID TO CHALLENGE THE SYSTEM!

Does "we've always done it that way" ring any bells?

The U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4'
8.5".
Why that gauge you might ask? Because that's the gauge in England.
English
expatriates built the U.S. railroads. Why did the English build them
like
that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who
built
the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did
they
use
that gauge? Because the people who built tramways used the same jigs
and
tools they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
Why
did
the wagons have that wheel spacing? That was the spacing on the wheel
ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first
long
distance roads in Europe for their legions. The roads have been used
ever
since.

The ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts,
which
everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels.
Since
the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in wheel
spacing. The U. S. standard railroad gauge of 4' 8.5" is derived from
the
original specifications for a Roman war chariot. The next time you get
a
spec and are told we have always done it that way and wonder what
horse's
BUTT came up with that, you may be exactly right because the Roman
chariots
were made wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.

Now the twist to the story.... When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on
its
launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the side of
the
main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters (SRBs) The SRBs are
made
by
Thiokol at their factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs
would
have preferred to make them fatter but the SRBs had to be shipped by
train
from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the
factory
runs
through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that
tunnel.
The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad
track, as you know is as wide as two horses' behinds. So amazingly, a
major
Space Shuttle design feature of what is the world's most advanced
transportation system was determined over 2,000 years ago by the width
of
a
Horse's backside. And you thought being a horse's butt wasn't
important!

I never have figured out what keeps a train on its tracks.

The gauge is way too narrow. Makes a Suzuki Samarai look like a wide-track
Pontiac by comparison. When tracks were originally laid, they should have
at least doubled the width. Wonder how many lives have been lost over the
years from trains taking curves too fast for the narrow track?

"Nomen Nescio" wrote in message
...
I never have figured out what keeps a train on its tracks.

Very shallow curves.

The gauge is way too narrow. Makes a Suzuki Samarai look like a wide-track
Pontiac by comparison. When tracks were originally laid, they should have
at least doubled the width. Wonder how many lives have been lost over the
years from trains taking curves too fast for the narrow track?

Most derailments are not caused by taking curves too fast.

Nomen Nescio wrote in message . ..
I never have figured out what keeps a train on its tracks.

The gauge is way too narrow. Makes a Suzuki Samarai look like a wide-track
Pontiac by comparison. When tracks were originally laid, they should have
at least doubled the width. Wonder how many lives have been lost over the
years from trains taking curves too fast for the narrow track?

Erie RR had 5 ft tracks -- until they got tired of transferring loads
whenever it went offline (President Lincoln musta been out when their
lobbiest called).

On the other hand, there are quite a few examples *narrow* gauge
railroads being operated successfully. 3 foot gauge and even a few 2
footers.

Yes, lives have been lost when trains have come off the curves, but
there is a point of diminishing returns on widening the track --
eventually, you're stuck without being able to do a curve at all. And
for all reasonable gauges, there is a speed at which a train will come
off the track, and that speed can be reached on just about any
mountain slope if the brakes fail.

Furthermore, how can we get to warp drive without further advances in
gauge theory opening up quantum gravity? ;-)

/dps

Most derailments are not caused by taking curves too fast.

Curves are also banked to allow better speeds. Just like curves on highways.

Plus the wheels have flanges to help keep them on track.

Where did this question originate?

"Ami Silberman" wrote:

Most derailments are not caused by taking curves too fast.

But some of the really spectacular ones are -- the fire San Bernadino
was known for before this year involved a train out of control down
Cajon Pass, puncturing gas mains and houses both when it finally came
to a stop.

(And then the cleanup crew punctured the gas main again!)

Not quite "manhole cover to escape velocity", but a lot of chemical
energy released in a short time!

BTW, I think "gas" may have been a *liquid" petroleum product, but I
don't remember for sure if it was gasoline.

/dps