Geographic Factors and Railroad Gauges

186ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS zone and a listing of photographs illustrative of the morphology of the entire zone.4 This list includes coverage of the zone from Point Arena to the Saltón Sea and serves a dual purpose. The photographs run the gamut from north to south and therefore present the complete range of physical environments along the zone. Secondly, each photograph attempts to portray those individual landforms characteristic of a particular segment of the zone. Obviously all features cannot be found in every section of the rift, and some photos show marked differences in fault trace manifestations. The selection should prove valuable to parties concerned with fault morphology. Additional information is available from the writer, and comments are welcomed. 4 These photographs are available from Western Aerial Photography Laboratory, ASCS-USDA, 2505 Parleys Way, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109. Cost of contact prints at nominal scale 1:20,000 is as follows: 1-5, $1.00; 6-100, $0.90; 100+, $0.70. Enlargements are available. Geographic Factors and Railroad Gauges* Thomas D. Best California State College at Los Angeles Throughout history, business decisions have been conditioned directly and indirectly by geographic factors. The roles of physical and cultural geographic elements are especially prominent in the process of railroad development and in general have been rather well analyzed by geographers. Examination of the role of geographic phenomena in decision making related to gauge, i.e., the spacing of the rails, was the purpose of research on which this paper was based. Introduction and evolution of the so-called "standard" gauge of 4' 8J2" appears, from today's perspective, both entirely accidental and somewhat unfortunate.1 No rationale other than traditional con- * Presented at the 1966 meeting of the Association to demonstrate the utility of the overhead projector in expository circumstances. 1 Charles E. Lee, The Evolution of Railways (2d. ed., London: The Railway Gazette , 1943), p. 2 and passim. VOLUME 28 / YEARBOOK / 1966187 venience can account for the fact that wheeled vehicles in the western world seem to have had their wheels at about the same spacing throughout their history.2 Even as motive power changed from animate to inanimate sources, and as rutways gave way to railways, only slight modifications of Greek and Roman wheel spacings appeared until the present odd-valued rail spacing emerged to ease the operation of Stephenson's equipment about 1830.3 If this gauge originally related to optimum fit to draft animals, there is no evidence to suggest that eventual introduction of broader and narrower gauges reflected the presence of larger or smaller beasts in regions where deviant gauges were innovated. In fact, the ideas of operation on either substantially wider or narrower track seem to have occurred in Britain . It is difficult to attach significance to any geographic factors insofar as the development of "standard" gauge is concerned, although recognition of the need for regional gauge uniformity certainly brought on the acceptance of the regionally dominant gauge, which often happened to be that used by pioneering Stephenson or his followers.4 About two-thirds of the world's railroad route mileage today is of "standard" gauge; it appears on every continent and in nations of highly diverse political and economic circumstances,5 yet no intrinsic advantage of the peculiar rail spacing can be cited. Broad gauges seem to have been introduced to gain increased power, capacity, and stability within rights-of-way only slightly larger than those of "standard" gauge. The broadest innovations, 7' in southwest Britain and 6' in northeastern United States, fell within decades under pressure for regional gauge unity, but about one-sixth of the present route mileage of the world is built to gauges of 5', 5' 6", and 5' 3", in order of mileage. Geographically based claims of ideal suitability to broad, open plains with room for uninhibited highspeed curves, space within the loading gauge for powerful engines to cope with steep grades, and improved stability in hurricanes 2 Robert R. Brown, "Gauges—Standard and Otherwise," Bulletin of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, No. 88 (May, 1953), pp. 78-81. Utterly undocumented , but the now "official" history of gauge evolution. 5 Ibid., p. 81...