Re: changing gauges - NNG

Brian Norden Wrote:
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> At one time there were other gauges used in the
> U.S. that eventually got changed to standard --
> 4'-9", 4'-10" and 5'-0". A number of these were
> located south of the Ohio River.

For what its worth, 4 foot 9 effectively is standard gauge. There are no operational problems between it and 56.5 inch gauge. A great many railroads used 4 foot 9, including the PRR and most of the formerly 5 foot gauge southern railroads (they re-gauged by moving a rail 3 inches inward). Some still may use it for all I know.

4 foot 10 was known as "Ohio gauge" and mostly disappeared by the Civil War. It could just about operate with standard gauge--but not quite. So-called compromise cars intended to operate on both it and standard gauge caused a number of tragic derailments, resulting in their outlaw and thus providing a strong incentive for the 4 foot 10-gauged railroads to re-gauge.

While some writers dismiss the narrower gauges as a failure, that's only really true in nations that already had entrenched gauges by the time narrow gauge appeared. Looking at nations that built their rail networks after the development of the narrow gauge concept shows that it was indeed quite competitive with wide gauges, and provided adequate national-level service.