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From an early period it became obvious that the iron road as originally laid down was far too weak for the heavy traffic which it had to carry. The line was at first laid with fish-bellied rails weighing thirty-five pounds to the yard, calculated only for horse-traffic, or, at most, for engines like the “Rocket,” of very light weight.
The malleable rails were of the kind called “fish-bellied,” and weighed 28 lbs. to the yard, being 2¼ inches broad at the top, with the upper flange ¾ inch thick. They were only 2 inches in depth at the points at which they rested on the chairs, and 3¼ inches in the middle or bellied part. When forming the road, the proper gauge had also to be determined. What width was this to be?
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