One of the prominent early railroads in Michigan’s “Copper Country” of the Keweenaw Peninsula was the Hecla & Torch Lake Railroad. Before purchasing the first locomotive, a number of ore cars had been constructed and some of the track had been laid. In ordering the first locomotive for this railroad, the specified gage was determined by measuring the existing cars. However, a mistake was made in this measuring, so the wrong gage was specified for the locomotive, which resulted in the locomotive being built to 49-inch-gage. The error was reported to be one inch, so I had always assumed that the intended gage of the railroad had been an even four feet.
However, from the letter below explaining the problem in detail, it says the locomotive was built one inch too narrow in gage. That would mean that the intended gage of the railroad was 50 inches. I wonder why such a seemingly arbitrary number would have been chosen. Was it common for non-connecting mine railroads to be built to gages with no regard to the general consensuses surrounding even gage number such as 24”, 30”, 36”, and 42” ?
Now there is another thing about this gage mistake explanation that seems fishy. In the letter below, Mr. Agassiz states that the one-inch mistake was due to measuring the back-to-back of the flanges rather than to their proper gage line. That would indeed result in a gage too narrow, but I doubt the discrepancy would have been one inch. It would have probably been at least 2 inches, or even 3 inches. So Mr. Agassiz’s detailed explanation does not make sense. Perhaps his explanation contains a mistake similar to the one made by Mr. Weston who mistakenly determined the wrong gage for the locomotive builder.
I know how easy it is to mistake and/or miscommunicate a measurement. People misspeak all the time. But still, the old saying, “measure twice, cut once” surely should have been applied to the gage specification for a locomotive.
So here is another question: Why on earth would you have to go out and measure your gage in order to know what it is for ordering the locomotive? If you have already built thousands of feet of track and dozens of ore cars, would you not have your gage memorized? It is, after all, the most fundamental specification of a railroad.
And why on earth would you not measure the distance between the insides of the rail rather than measuring the cars? I guess the answer to that question is that a person intending to order a locomotive is thinking of the locomotive wheels, and so he thinks of measuring the car wheels. Such a person might not consider that the rail spacing unambiguously reflects the gage, whereas the gage line of the wheels is not a tangible feature, buy rather, just a datum in space with a relationship to the flange fillet radius.
Here is a letter from Alexander Agassiz to Quincy Shaw explaining the discovery of the problem:
TO Q. A. SHAW
Calumet, Nov. 5, 1867.
I have just received an awful rap over the knuckles. The locomotive and track are not of one gauge; locomotive is one inch too narrow. This is perfectly infernal. First comes the snow; and now, just as we had managed by dint of sweeping to lay a temporary track around the trestle of head of incline, to get locomotive up and push road to mine, we are brought to a dead standstill by this mistake and shall have to relay one rail whole distance from the Lake and alter the axles of all our cars (which fit track admirably) to the new gauge.
This is no fool’s job and will, I am afraid, delay us greatly. I shall get, if possible, these changes made at Franklin or Pewabic shop; but I am afraid with all this work that it will fall on our machine shop and delay everything at least three weeks.
The fine weather is coming on again (at least I hope so as it has stopped snowing). Before we change the track I shall get forward all that is necessary to finish track as far as mine; and then, while they are laying that last 4500 feet, change the gauge of the other part of railroad and bring up locomotive.
I don’t see that Weston is to blame: there are two ways of ordering, and from the method used here he had made a mistake in taking for the distance between his flanges the width of the track inside instead of outside the flanges, which makes a difference of just one inch. It is too exasperating to be blocked by such a blunder, and just at the last moment. All these things are never found out till everything is ready, and I am afraid we shall now be delayed in consequence.
I go to Torch Lake early tomorrow and shall look at thing again after a night’s sleep and see what can be done; and shall then at once go to Houghton and let you know what can be done there. Locomotive, I am afraid, cannot possibly be altered; and then the only remedy and cheapest thing is to relay one rail and change axles for all our cars. This letter is worse written than usual, but I am in such a rage that I cannot write better.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2011 05:27PM by Ron Keagle.
