[ Editor's Note:
 [
 [ The following article has been making its way around the
 [ Internet, in much the same way that "interesting" things
 [ used to make their way around the office via n'th generation
 [ Xerox copies.  The topic here is a bit off the subject for our
 [ group, and I have no idea if the theory presented here has any
 [ grounding in truth.  However, it struck me as so amusing I
 [ couldn't resist...
 [
 [ Jody

Dear Engineers & other Railroad Nuts,

This note is from my nephew, Bradley, who is a Doctorate student
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  It seems very
sensible to me!

- - - - - - - -
>
> Date: Fri, 27 Sep 1996 13:37:37 -0400
> From: "Bradley J. Rhodes" <rhodes@media.mit.edu>
> To: rrhodes@foxtail.com
> Subject: How Mil Specs Live Forever ["Military Specifications"]
>
> Even if this weren't true I'd like it.  (It _must_ be true -- I heard
> it on the 'Net...!)
>
>       -- Brad
>
- - - - - - -

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 US
railroads were built by English expatriates.

Why did the English people 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 used for building
wagons, which used that wheel spacing.

Okay! Why did the wagons use that odd wheel spacing?  Well, if they
tried to use any other spacing the wagons would break on some of the
old, long- distance roads, because that's the spacing of the old wheel
ruts.

So who built these old rutted roads?  The first long-distance roads in
Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of the Legions.  The
roads have been used ever since.  And the ruts?  The initial ruts,
which everyone else had to match, for fear of destroying their wagons,
were first made by Roman war chariots.  Since the chariots were made
for or by Imperial Rome they were all alike in the matter of wheel
spacing.

Thus, we have the answer to the original questions.  The United State
standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches derives from the original
specification (Military Spec) for an Imperial Roman army war chariot.

So, the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what
Horse's Ass came up with it, you may be exactly right!  Because the
Imperial Roman chariots were made to be just wide enough to accommodate
the back-ends of two war horses.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

... and then we have the famous Citroen 2CV, the "Deux Chevaux" of France!

I've been told that the first Equipment Specification for
non-government industry in the USA was for the Pocket Watch, carried by
the railroad men.  The watch had to meet the specified accuracy while
operating at temperature extremes, and when in any attitude.

Best regards,

Robbie Rhodes

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|         Robbie Rhodes            |
| Return-Path: rrhodes@foxtail.com |
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