Talk:Rail gauge

Rail Gauge

I believe that the rail gauge is now quoted as 595mm (1ft 11.43ins) Heritagejim (talk) 08:12, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps the rail gauge is becoming a little worn? It is a rather shabby old thing, is it not, and it has been around over fifty years to my knowledge. Will Jones had it before the war, so I have little idea how old it is. It has no signs of welding on it, so I suppose it was forged - maybe on the old steam hammer? P. Pnjarvis (talk) 12:28, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

Thank you, Tony, that looks much neater. P. Pnjarvis (talk) 16:47, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

Sharp Curves

See:

• Dingle Site - said to be 2nd tightest main line curve.
• Tyler's Curve - said to be sharpest on mainline, but radius increased when deviated.
• Coed y Bleiddiau - said to have been eased to suit rerailing for locomotive haulage.

• Curve Radius - result of search; needs to be tabulated.

I am confident that Tyler's curve and Dingle curve are sharper than Coed y Bleiddiau (also Platform road at Porthmadog).MarkTemple (talk) 14:07, 6 August 2015 (UTC)

It occurs to me that it might be possible to determine the radius of curves using Google Earth. Heritagejim (talk) 07:56, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Search

• search for "curve" and get 148 matches.
• search for "sharp curve" and get 25 matches.
• search for "radius" and get 17 matches.

Suggest make 25 matches for "sharp curve" into article Sharp curves or Curve Radius. FarleyBrook (talk) 04:23, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

Wheel Treads

How wide are the treads of FR wheels, as this is an issue for gauge widening on sharp curves. FarleyBrook (talk) 06:50, 28 September 2016 (UTC)

Wheel treads are 3 1/8th inches (79 mm ) Ref: Dow A (2014). MarkTemple (talk) 13:01, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

External links

• Google Translate

Wikipedia citations

There is a format for citing articles in the NLA "Trove" newspaper articles, which Wikipedia and Festipedia understand.

Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a way of pinpointing the line in that article which can be citing.

This lack is a nuisance if the article is a long one.

Gauge

I understood the FR gauge to be 23 & 5/8 inches, which is almost precisely 600mm.

The South African steel sleepers used on the WHR have clips that allow for gauge widening. They have two steps at different distances, so if you install both at the smaller setting you get the straight track gauge (600mm), tuning one round moves the gauge out 5mm for medium curves and then if you turn both round you get 10mm of gauge widening for the sharpest of curves.

Edward Harris (talk) 12:53, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

Interesting. It is not clear in the Dow 2014 reference page 445 whether the figures in his table refer to just the FR or apply to WHR as well. From what you say above it seems the WHR gauge may be marginally greater than the FR. I think this justifies an email to Fred. I am about to send. MarkTemple (talk) 17:04, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

Dow A (2014) The Railway, British Track since 1804 is the commanding reference for this material. I do not doubt he got his information from Fred Howes - former FR Civil Engineer now retired. If you want me to double check I could email Fred. MarkTemple (talk) 14:08, 14 November 2016 (UTC)