MY HOBBY AND STORY SENT IN BY MIKE
FULL STEAM AHEAD!
"Coaches"
Behind 844,
took a tour
through the
hole thing! 14
Cans total.
Leaving Town!
Full Steam
Blowoff!
80" Drivers 4
Leading
wheels-8-74
inch Drivers-4
trailing.
4-8-4 w/7
wheel water
tender & tool
coach. "UP
844" water car
good for 300
miles
Union Pacific
Historic # 844     
I Ran this train
last year to
Carlin, Wow!
What a blast!
Interesting History Lesson

Be sure to read the final paragraph; your understanding of it will depend on the earlier part of
the content.

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 England, and the
English, built the U.S. Why did the English build them that way? Because the first rail lines were
built by the same people who built the re-railroad tram-ways, and that's the gauge they used.

Why did 'they' use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tram-ways used the
same jigs and tools that they 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 England,
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
(and England) for their legions. The 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 in. is derived from the original specifications for an
Imperial Roman war chariot... So the next time you are handed a
Specification/Procedure/process and wonder "What horse's ass came up with it? You may be
exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the
rear ends of two war horses.  (Two horses asses). End of today's lesson..
I been working on the railroad for the past 20 years and
found it to be a great job and hobby! Next time you pass
through Carlin or Elko area, just wave because I will be
full steam ahead!!
MORE GREAT
LINKS
Hello and Love this site. I have been a
Locomotive Engineer for 36 years and a
Conductor /Brakeman for two years. I hired
out at Portola California in 1972. The same
year I graduated from Credence High School
in Susanville California. I married my
childhood sweetheart the same year as well,
and two wonderful kids. My name is Mike
but most people know me as "Kiteman", for
some strange reason. You can ask me most
anything about Railroading,and Kiting
through this site and I would be Happy to try
and offer an answer if I can. Peace out to all
you foamers, and if not there yet you could
be. Kiteman Out...