Talk:Melba Line

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Original track gauge 912 mm?[edit]

The article now states: "On 1 February 1878 a 71 kilometre, 912 mm (2 ft 11 29⁄32 in) gauge horse drawn wooden tramway opened". Source is James Fenton (1884). The History of Tasmania From its Discovery in 1642 to the Present Time. p. 391.

Some questions. Is it likely that the gauge in Australia, 1878, would be defined in metric units? I'd expect ft, in units. Second, is this peculiar size of (2 ft 11 29⁄32 in) realistic? For a wooden track even? I want to test the hypothesis that it was laid at plain 3 feet.

Can someone open the source, and check what is actually written there? -DePiep (talk) 11:49, 27 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It is available in pdf. Page 391 (print) does not mention a gauge. The footnote does mention the change from wood to iron tracks. -DePiep (talk) 12:19, 27 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I will remove this gauge mentioning. -DePiep (talk) 12:43, 27 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]