Keith Taylor Wrote:
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> The original 2' gauge lines were built that way
> for a very specific reason. With staggered rail
> joints if you get a low joint, the cars begin to
> rock. 2' gauge cars are built with a relatively
> high center of gravity and rocking can be
> dangerous. With the joints opposite each other
> both will drop at the same time and the end of the
> car may bob up and down.....but it won't rock from
> side to side lessening the chance or reaching a
> harmonic that will rock the car off the tracks.
Thank you! I had never heard this explanation before, but it makes total sense. It wouldn't surprise me if George Mansfield himself was responsible for this insight, since he was famously concerned about "oscillation" and square rail joints were standard practice on the Maine Two-Footers from the beginning.
-Philip Marshall