The Greenville enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1870-1873, 1871-09-06
The Gauge Of Railroads.


The gauge of most of the Unit.
ed States roads is on the Ameri.
can Standard Of four feet and eight
and half inches. The RaiIroad
Gazette, of Chicago, one CT the hest
authorities, complies some facts,
showing that there are about Al
600 miles Of "sta dard," or four
feet eight and a half inches gauge
in the country, and only 2,959
miles of the six feet gauge. The
standard gauge is used on all the
| roads centering in Chicago, and
all the main trunk lines with their
branches) passing across the con.
tinent east and west, excepting the
Erie and the Atlantic and Great
Western, the Albany and Susquc.
hanna, and the Delaw arc and Lack.
awanna. both of which are operat-
cd by tho Erie, have the six feet
gauge also but tue prospects are
that all these will reduce their
gauge to the standard width be.
tore many years. There are also
causes at work to induce a rednc.
tion on the Lackawanna and the
d. laware and Susquehanna.
The change of tie Great Wes-
tern of Canada, from a broad to a
nai row gauge, was effected by de-
grees that is third rail was
laid down to accommodate the
cars of other lines, while the roll
ing stock of the Great Western
itself was kept at the broad stand
ord. Lately, hoges es, the outside
rail has been taken up altogether,
and the rolling stock of the COM
pany and gauge of its branch
roads been altered to the medium
standard.
At the South, however, there is
still a general adherance to wlrat
may be denominated the Southern
standard, viz, five feet the gauge
Of a majority of the roads, except
some in the Southwest, which are
five feet six inches. Already the
standard of Northern gauge has
penetrated we'll into the Southern
States and constitutes the gauge of
the following Virginia railroads {:
Richmond and Petersburg, 46
miles Petersburg Railroad (Pe.
tersburg to Weldon) 80 miles +;
Seaboard and Roanoke (Nortolk
to Weldon,) 80 miles; Whining.
ton and Weldon, 1S1 miles the
Raleigh and CASTOR, 81 miles ; At.
lantic and North Carolina (west
by north to Goldsboro) 95 miles,
and the North Carolina Railroad
(Goldsboro to Charlotte,) 22 8
miles ; in fact all the roads of any
conseq uence in the State, except
the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio,
running from Norfolk westward.
| The s. Louis and Iron Noun
tain Railroad of Missouri has the
five foot gauge, and to that have
several connecting lines in Arkan-
sas, and one (the Cairo and Full
'ohs panty ouiity III 1hIloiS hao
been built to conform. The new
roads in Missouri and Arkansas,
however, have generally the stand
ard gauge, and one important
Missouri railroad 0he Missouri
Pacific) has been altered through
all its 2S3 miles of the track to
conform to the national standard.
AS to the extreme narrow
gauge-by which we designate
the tracks of three feet, or less,
which are being laid on the Color.
ado and Rio Grande, and one or
two less extensive lines this side
of there-it is not likely to inter.
fere seriously with any ,f the
trunk lines or other roads whose
economy is identified with a first
c.ass service. 1t will be found
very useful in mountainous dis
tricts, where the curves and grades
are sharp, ard where the business
is mostly in freight.