Railway Gauge Was Set by Wagon Wheels
A gauge measures size or distance. The standard railway gauge of four feet eight and a half inches has an oddly specific history.
A gauge is an instrument for measuring, or a standard size. The standard railway gauge — four feet eight and a half inches — came from the wagonways of northern England, where George Stephenson adopted the spacing already used by horse-drawn coal wagons. The awkward half inch was added later for clearance. Most of the world's track follows a colliery habit. The spelling *gage* is an accepted American variant in some technical uses.
- A measuring instrument. *A fuel gauge.*
- A standard size. *Standard gauge track.*
- Wire or sheet thickness. *16 gauge wire.*
- To estimate. *Gauge the mood.*
- Gage — an American variant spelling. *A pressure gage.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | gauge | A rain gauge. |
| Plural | gauges | Two gauges. |
| Verb | gauge | Gauge the depth. |
| Past | gauged | He gauged it. |
| Variant | gage | A gage. |
- The fuel gauge read empty.Instrument.
- Standard gauge is 1,435 millimetres.Railways.
- It is hard to gauge his reaction.Estimate.
Gauge in different trades
- Railways — the distance between the rails
- Wire — a higher gauge number means a thinner wire
- Shotguns — based on how many lead balls of that bore weigh a pound
- Sheet metal — again, higher number means thinner
- Knitting — stitches per unit of width
Old North French *gauge*, a measuring rod, of uncertain origin, possibly Frankish. English has it from the 1400s.
Why is standard railway gauge such an odd number?
It came from horse-drawn colliery wagonways in northern England, with a half inch added later for clearance.
Why does a higher wire gauge mean thinner wire?
The number originally counted how many times the wire had been drawn through progressively smaller dies.