In message . com on 6 Dec 2004
04:42:17 -0800 in uk.transport.london, "Boltar" tapped
out on the keyboard:


It never ceases to amaze me how tight the clearences are on british
railways.
Did it never occur to the builders of the lines to maybe leave a spare
foot
here and there just-in-case? Ok , for tunnels this would be expensive
but
how much extra would it have cost to make lineside obstacles, bridge
supports
etc a foot or 2 further from the track when you're building a 30 foot
wide
permanent way anyway? Plus those victorians did loved their curved
platforms,
just to make life a real pain for longer vehicles.

B2003

I seem to recall that Hudson, the "Railway King", deliberately made sure his
lines were built with a tighter loading gauge, in order to prevent other
companies getting running powers over his lines.

--
John Youles Norwich England UK
j dot y.o.u.l.e.s at n.t.l.w.o.r.l.d dot c.o.m
http://www.ukip.org/