Roy asks readers:

“Has anyone had experience with the Aristocraft Revolution radio control system? I am considering which system to use for my G gauge garden railway.”

Dave sent in this interesting yarn to share. You are welcome to send this link to your friends.

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4  feet, 8.5 inches. That’s an exceedingly odd number.

Why was that gauge used? Because that’s the way they built them in England, and English expatriates designed the US  railroads.

Why  did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad  tramways, and that’s the gauge they  used.

Why did ‘they’ use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used  for building wagons, which used that wheel  spacing.

Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would  break on some of the old, long distance roads in England,  because that’s the spacing of the wheel  ruts.

So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England ) for  their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.

And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial  ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying  their wagon  wheels.

Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome , they were all alike  in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot.  Bureaucracies live forever.

So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process  and wonder ‘What horse’s arse came up with this?’, you may be  exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses.  (Two horses’ arses.)

Now, the twist to the  story:

When  you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are  two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel  tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are  made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah.

The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit  fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the  factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs  had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider  than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now  know, is about as wide as two horses’ behinds.

So,  a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the  world’s most advanced transportation system was determined  over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse’s arse.  And you thought being a horse’s arse wasn’t important? Ancient  horse’s arses control almost everything!

The Soar Valley Model Railway Club (SVMRC) stirred in June 1981 when about six enthusiasts met at the Manor House pub in Quorn in the UK. The landlord, also an enthusiast offered the stable loft alongside the hotel as a clubroom but only if we cleaned and cleared away years of accumulated rubbish including several dead birds and rotted food.

At the first proper meeting a constitution was written, officers elected and a recruitment drive initiated. By Easter 1983 the club was arranging it’s own small exhibition. The club established itself with good management and a strong membership and had gone from strength to strength from the small beginnings with only six members. SVMRC currently has 55 members.

Dorehill St. Stevens (00)

The layout measures 41ft 9ins x 14ft 6ins on 22, 6ft x 3ft or 2ft 6ins boards made from 12mm exterior ply on 75mm x 25mm battening, with occasional variations as can be seen in the canal area. The layout ideally requires ten operators but can run with only seven.

Sowters Lane (009)

Sowters Lane is a fictitious “009” narrow gauge junction layout, situated in a rural location and is based loosely on a number of slate, coal and quarry railways. Trains converge from the three quarry and mine  and takes them via the junction at Sowters Lane to the Main line transfer yard off scene . In addition to the mining traffic the occasional passenger and goods freight trains can be seen meandering through the scenic countryside, where the keen eyed will spot the blacksmith welding in his works and the Farrier working on his horse shoes. The local bus awaits passengers to be taken to the nearby town, the taxi awaits fares and the postman makes his rounds delivering letters.

Aylett End (00)

This layout is based on a Southern Region branch line terminus around the Ashford area in the British Railways era 1950s & 1960s.

Hardington Valley (Hornby Dublo)

The station is based on a large provincial town with a goods yard, sidings, coal staithes and working colour light signals.

The club is currently developing 3 new layouts:

Monkton Howland (00) – A modern image DCC layout .

Shawley (0) – A 1950s branch line, loosely based upon the Charnwood Forest Railway.

Swithland Sidings (N) – A semi-fictional recreation of the area around Swithland Sidings on the
Great Central Main Line, set in the 1950s.

Arlin sent in this update of his layout:

“My layout is a mixture of some old and more recent era which depicts many small lumber communities in Oregon. The wiring under the deck has been slow because I’m not able to get under and my neighbor has been helping in his free time, so that has me at a stand still. We are in the process of connecting the lights for most all structures and street lights. In the corner of the layout will be a stream, waterfall and lake with a camp ground. I have added a hobo camp in a front corner so kids can see it up close. The N scale is lake a back drop to the HO and will feature a small town and farm scenes. Back drop scenery is also in the works. It seems to never end! That is why my wife refers to me as “Chug Along Arlin.”

R.C.Belcher sent in this question for readers:

“I am 72 yrs old and I was raised within 50 yds. of the Virginian Railroad, formerly known as the Deepwater Railroad. I live about 2 miles outside of Princeton WV, still close to the railroad. I have been trying to find a EL-2B Virginian electric locomotive with the pantograph in ho scale.  The one I did find was over $1700.00, way out of my price range as I am retired and on a fixed income. I would be greatly appreciative of any help I can get. I am a greenhorn in this. I already have the N&W Powatan arrow still in the box.”