Steam & Excursion > What was the original EBT Gage of track?

 A stockholder meeting on June 6, 1872 decided on 3 foot gage for the East Broad Top RR & Coal Company and construction officially began September 16, 1872 using this track gauge and one additional gauge.  Former Superintendent Stanley Hall informed me this was one of two gauges used to build the railroad and he owned the other one.  I purchased this at a Mauer’s Auction which handled one of my North Jersey friend’s estate sales.  He had purchased it from J. D. Jones long before the railroad was shut down.  This gauge was primarily used by James G. Murphy, born 9/9/1851, hired by EBTRR when 22 years old 7/27/1874, about the time track reached the nearly finished Wray’s hill tunnel. He was Roadmaster by 1881.  His retirement date is unknown but it was after he built the Clay Spur and later died just short of 83 years old 8/29/1934. 

This gauge presents a question of what was the actual gage the EBT was first spiked because the distance between the brass plates is 36-3/8” not 36 inches.  I wonder which answer might be correct:

(A)  The gauge is built with extra play of 3/8”.  Play was common in the 1870s and on very small narrow gauge roads, would not give a problem with “hunting”.  But most line used ¼” play and I have not known of 3/8” play.

(B)  The other gauge was built to 36” for use on tangent track and this gauge was used on sharper curves where the gauge is increased ¼” for each 10 degrees of curvature. 

(C)  Other suggestion accepted.

Like most railroad official track gauges, the out of service point is when the gauge fall in the gage between the rails, and that would be 38 ¾” with this gauge tool.    

Edit addition for folks who like details and never have seen a Poor's Manual which cover nearly every railroad in country, yearly.  Major State Libraries have them to research. This issue has the 1878 cover date.  
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/20 15:49 by PlyWoody.

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I vote for "B". The shortline I worked for had 2 Steel track gauges. The first one was 4'8 1/2" and the other 4' 9". It was presumed they came from the NYO&W, but there were no RR company initials stamped on them. Also missing was the measurement stamping of each one. The shortline was using hand-me-down ERR (wood) track gauges regularly, and the steel ones never saw much use, but I considered them to be a little more accurate than the wood ERR gauges. 

Three-eights of an inch widening above design gauge isn't going to cause any operational problems in either standard or three-foot gauge track. In the steam era, as was pointed out, it was not uncommon to widen gauge in curves to ease rail forces caused by the tracking of long wheelbase steam locomotives. Typically, one-quarter inch was the amount, but this was at the discretion of the RR company. An additionally one-eighth of an inch wouldn't practically be much different.