General Category > GENERAL Topics - Scottish or not
Railroad Tracks - who'd a thunk it?
Mary:
Railroad tracks
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails)
is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number.
Why was that gauge used ?
Because that's the way they built them in Scotland,
and Scottish expatriates designed the US railroads.
Why did the Scottish 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 then ?
Because the people who built the tramways
used the same jigs and tools that they had
used for building wagons,
which used that wheel spacing.
Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing ?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would
break on some of the old, long distance roads in Scotland,
because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts
So who built those old rutted roads?
Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads
in Europe (including Scotland) for their legions.
Those roads have been used ever since.
And 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 the matter of wheel spacing.
Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet,
8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications
for an Imperial Roman war chariot.
Bureaucracies live forever...
So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process
and wonder 'What horse's ass came up with this?',
you may be exactly right.
Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to
accommodate the rear 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 sides of the main fuel tank.
These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs.
The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah.
The engineers who designed the SRBs
would have preferred to make them a bit
fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped
By train from the factory to the launch site.
The railroad line from the factory happens
to run through a tunnel in the mountains,
and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel.
The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track,
and the railroad track, as you now know,
is about as wide as two horses' behinds.
So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is
arguably the world's most advanced transportation system
was determined over two thousand years ago
by the width of two horses' asses.
And you thought a horse's ass wasn't important !
AND HERE ENDETH THE LESSON!
Stirling Thompson:
Interesting tale Mary, but I'm thunking maybe you've got too much time on your hands! Are you fully rehabbed yet from your injuries?
Booner:
Just as I thought, bureaucracy was invented for a horses' behind
But I did like the story.
Booner
Mary:
--- Quote from: Stirling Thompson on April 11, 2012, 05:30:37 AM ---Interesting tale Mary, but I'm thunking maybe you've got too much time on your hands! Are you fully rehabbed yet from your injuries?
--- End quote ---
Hi Stu -
No, not yet but you're right........I have way too much time on my hands! Finding all kinds of different ways to fill it! ;)
Rehabbed - well, I'm out of the wheelchair and walking with a cane. I can drive again. I broke both bones where they join into the ankle. I have a couple of rods and a plate and screws - I'm my own TinkerToy set! My orthopedic surgeon says a full year before I get back to 'normal' (no wise cracks here!), so I still have 8 more months to go. At least, I can go shopping now ----- now that I can't afford the gas to get there! Geesh!
Thanks for asking. We were hoping to get to the NE this year for a game or two but it looks like we will have to plan it for next year. You have a nice flurry of games and the only one we've ever been to is the Maine Games. Next year!
Sis Thompson's oldest:
Glad to hear you are up and about Mary! Careful on the steps. ;)
Sherry
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