New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-05-31
CU1NGING THE GAUGE.
4 GREAT WORK ON SOUTHERN LINES.

-
THOUSANDS OF MILES OF TRACKS NARROWED TO
THE NORTHERN STANDARD.
One of the curious features of railway building
in the Uuited States is the difference OF gauge be-
tween fine Northern and Southern road. The war
nearly wiped ont the old Mason and Dixon'S line
and but for the railroads lttlo would remain to-
dav to direct attention to that famous survey
These as If to keep w the original line Of dcmarca
ton have their stopping places and their changes
of ears somewhere in its latitude. South-bouni
travellers from the New-Tngand, Middle and
Western States look upon these changes with
feeling akin to horror If in the ordinary pas
senocr car they must change bag and baggage 20
another: if IN a Pullman sleeper they are ronSeh NJ
the dead of night by grndng, twisting, screrchlnS
noises the surrounding darkness II hghted ny
flaming torches, the smoke Of which, thick AMI
sooty pOurs into the car; loul voices shltc tne
ear" back n lecsle"-" forward n leetle All
roht" the car hngins to rise slowly ~ the ar or
eight legs of a hydraulic lifting apparatus; then u
sud lenv stops there is q rafting ~ chalhs abd Il
rolling of wheels. the truc~s of ne NortLerh ROAD
measuring feet : l2 inches are PuShea ron u'nar
the sleeper and nclr places taken Oy lh' HN'-i"'u
IT cks Of the southern line: the car iesccpd''
ch ,ins are hooked in place. voice calls AL ilSH'
pulI her ahead " and the Journey IS continued.
The tact that a fiye-foOt truck cannot run on a
track with Il gauge OF four feet eight and hall
inches obligcs all the North ana soul trunk ines
ville for instance, changes cars ana trucks al
Louisville. the East Tennessee Virginia aud
Georgia changes at Lynchburs. and the
va. Until yesterday the Atlantic Coast Line,
which carries Thousands of people to Florida III the
autumn and brings tn I'm back In the spring iIia"o
changes of freight ard passengers AT Nllnh@ton'
1--WE shall not make any more changes or trans
fers," said Jonah II. White. Eastern passenger
Agent of that line, on Saturday. " to-day many
miles of our track south OF Wilmington are beng
drawn into the standard gauge. On iues1ay Tue
shql1 be GRABBED to ron through trains from jersey
(,Itv TO the hea waters of the 81. johns River III
Middle Florida. feat hitherto unh"afd Of"
"WIlI the change not Interfere with the running
of transD .o
'rle interference will he OF 10 consequence.
Passengers will scarcely know that such a change
is beng made We hired so me thousands OF men
from the tnrpentIne forests and scattered them
along he track so thickIy that individually they
had little to do Working co lectlvey they moved
III at a given moment, as 1t were, many niles OIL
track" 49,
How is the work done |"
"lhe men arc divided into two squads. one armed
with cldw-bars, the other with spike mauls: Inc
former draws tho spikes from the inside o the ran
10 be moved and shoves II IN to the proper gnage'
the spike gang follows close behind and faNtens IL
again to the tres. At our leisure We lire the track,
that i. ace 1t III the centre of the road bed. ON
bIdges and trestes both rails have to be moved so
thai they Will straddle the stringcrs property
Twill the change save much Ill the matter OF
freight chargcsY ,, .t.o
Perhaps the tarii VIII DC ioWclou ''t'l
awhile Heretofore We Obliged to transfer
all freight lust as we did passengers. That mcaut
DELAY and expense but II was thought moro eco
montreal than to keep an extra PAIR OF trucks Tor
every freIg IT car the road. This delay was, OF
course of great advantage to coastwise steamship
| lines They will doubtless feel the change"
Are other roads than tho Atlantic Coast Line
| making th, change of gaugeT
| Yes; understand that the change Is to be gen.
| eral throughout the south. 1t is one of the most
important operations the history of railroads III
| America. Before the end of the second week III
June IT is said some 13 600 miles of fve-foot track
Will be changed To the Northern standard gauge.
The change will have to BE- made III few hours and
without interruption to the running OF many I'M
portant trains. even on the dav the change takes
place 1t Will affect almost every railway south OF
the Potomac AMI Ohio Rivers, the extent of road in
| the various southern States beng distributed as
follows Georgia. 2413 miles; Tennessee. $50
| Alabama, SOB South Carolina 1920 Florida
| 1850: Kentucky LIS; Virginia, 9s1; North
Carolina, $50 /; Mississippi, 776; Louisiana, 3l3.'