Britain adopts a standard railway gauge

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Domains

Railways

Dates

Date of occurrence 1846

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Resources

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Until this piece of legislation was passed, different local railways had used a range of gauges (width of distance between the two rails) for their tracks. For railways in steep mountainous areas, for example, a narrow gauge was useful for enabling a locomotive to follow a tighter curve, while Isombard Kingdom Brunel chose a wide gauge for his Great Western Railway from London to Bristol. According to the terms of the new Gauge of Railways Act, however, passenger railways in Britain could now be nothing other than 4 feet 8 and a half inches across.

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93 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Britain adopts a standard railway gauge". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4892, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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