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Measurement of track spacing from the rail head to rail head. By definition, the track spacing is given from centre to centre of a rail track. For an actual construction the distance is measured from the inside of a rail head to the matching one of the other track. As far as both tracks have the same gauge this is the same distance.
Originally, various track gauges were used in the United States.Some railways, primarily in the northeast, used standard gauge of 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in (1,435 mm); others used gauges ranging from 2 ft (610 mm) to 6 ft (1,829 mm).
The vast majority of North American railroads are standard gauge (4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in / 1,435 mm).Exceptions include some streetcar, subway and rapid transit systems, mining and tunneling operations, and some narrow-gauge lines particularly in the west, e.g. the isolated White Pass and Yukon Route system, and the former Newfoundland Railway.
Flanged wheels eventually became universal, and the spacing between the rails had to be compatible with that of the wagon wheels. [ 4 ] As the guidance of the wagons was improved, short strings of wagons could be connected and pulled by teams of horses, and the track could be extended from the immediate vicinity of the mine or quarry, typically ...
Railways with a track gauge between 500 mm (19 + 3 ⁄ 4 in) and 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge. Diamond crossing dual gauge double line narrow-gauge and standard-gauge. Narrow gauge track.
The American gauges converged, as the advantages of equipment interchange became increasingly apparent. Notably, all the 5 ft (1,524 mm) broad gauge track in the South was converted to "almost standard" gauge 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm) over the course of two days beginning on 31 May 1886. [21] See Track gauge in the United States.
A replica of a "Little Eaton Tramway" wagon, the tracks are plateways A later system involved L-shaped iron rails or plates , each 3 ft (914 mm) long and 4 in (102 mm) wide, having on the inner side an upright ledge or flange, 3 in (76 mm) high at the centre and tapering to 2 in (51 mm) at the ends, for the purpose of keeping the flat wheels on ...
A railway track (CwthE and UIC terminology) or railroad track (NAmE), also known as permanent way (CwthE) [1] or "P Way" (BrE [2] and Indian English), is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers (railroad ties in American English) and ballast (or slab track), plus the underlying subgrade.