Английский язык. Жесткова М.В - 121 стр.

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121
To be read after Lesson 3
[3] THE BATTLE OF THE GAUGES
Part 1
In the early days, each railroad built its track at whatever gauge it pleased and then built its
engines and cars to fit that gauge. The tracks at the Killingworth Colliery, for which George
Stephenson built his first locomotive the Blocher, happened to be 4 feet 8 inches (1.42 meters)
between rails, so Stephenson built his locomotive for this gauge. When he designed the Stockton
and Darlington he made the locomotive the same width but added another half inch (1.3
centimeters) to the width of track. This odd measurement of 4 feet 81/2 inches (1.44 meters) in time
came to be known as standard gauge. Other tracks in England ranged between 2 and 7 feet (0.6 and
2.1 meters). The famous English engineer Brunel considered that the (чем) broader the gauge, the
(тем) easily would the trains run. Following his advice the Great Western Company had constructed
the railway network with a gauge of 7 feet. That is why for many years there were 2 gauges in
England: the 7 feet suggested by Brunel and 4 feet 8½ inches, offered by Stephenson. It was
inconvenient because where there was a break of gauges, delay was caused and time was wasted.
Angry people wrote to the newspapers and demanded to change the broad gauge. “The Battle of the
Gauges” lasted more than 30 years. Only in 1892 in the House of Commons
1
the broad gauge was
described as a “national evil”, and it was decided to convert all the railways to the standard gauge.
Part 2
In the United States the early railroad tracks ranged from 3 to 6 feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters) in width.
This variance became unacceptable with the demand for connecting lines and through service.
Freight soon began to move longer distances and over the lines of more than one railroad. The
differences in gauges forced the costly nuisance of unloading and reloading cars. Most of the lines
in the area between New York City and Chicago were of nearly the same gauge—between 4 feet 8
inches and 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 meters). Thus, in the 1860s, arrangements were made to use cars
specially equipped with broad-tread wheels that could be used on any of these widths. About the
same time, the movement toward standardization of the 4 feet 81/2 inch, or Stephenson, gauge
received great encouragement when the United States Congress adopted it for the new Pacific
railroad. By the mid-1880s there was virtually a double standard of gauge in the United States. In
the North and West the Stephenson gauge prevailed, while most of the South used a gauge of 5 feet
(1.52 meters). Starting in 1886, the Southern lines narrowed their tracks to the now standard gauge
of 4 feet 81/2 inches. This uniformity soon ensured an uninterrupted flow of commerce over the
entire nation. Standard gauge is also used in Canada, Mexico, and Cuba, which was once linked
with railroads on the mainland by freight-car ferry. No other continent has a comparable
standardization, however.
Note
:
1
the House of Commons – Палата Общин
[4] DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN RAILROADS
Between 1850 and 1871 the United States government made grants to railroads to assist the
extension of lines in the West and South, often ahead of settlement. About 8 percent of the country’s
railroad mileage was built with the aid of these land grants. The grants were not outright gifts; in
return, the railroads were required to haul government traffic at reduced rates. When Congress
terminated this arrangement in 1946, it was estimated that the railroads had repaid the government
about ten times the original value of the land grants.
By 1870, when the railroad movement in the United States was 40 years old, there were 53,000
miles (85,000 kilometers) of main lines, not including secondary tracks, sidings, passingtracks, or
yards. Between 1870 and 1880 another 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) were added. The decade
from 1880 to 1890 saw the most rapid expansion of American rail lines, with 70,000 miles (113,000
kilometers) added—an average of 19 miles (31 kilometers) of new railroad completed each day.
Growth continued, with another 30,000 miles (48,000 kilometers) added in the 1890s and another

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