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I skimmed the four suggestions: digital tracking, avoid bottlenecks, invest in infrastructure, and overcome break of gauge, until I got to that last one. Break
by intrepidhero 6y ago
I skimmed the four suggestions: digital tracking, avoid bottlenecks, invest in infrastructure, and overcome break of gauge, until I got to that last one. Break of gauge? Turns out Russia and Europe operate rails at different rail widths (gauge) and there are rail cars with variable width axles to accommodate running the same trains on both. Too bad it doesn't work for freight. TIL: fascinating.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_gauge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_gauge
- namibj 6y agoIt works for freight, but the cars are comparatively expensive.
- Scoundreller 6y agoAnd means you can only carry reduced loads or deadweight. Doesn’t sound technically complicated though, so I wonder if the extra expense is lack of volume.
- barbazoo 6y agoWhen I took the trans siberian railway in 2008, they actually took a break at the border of Mongolia and China I believe to change the axles for different size ones which took a couple of hours.
- brudgers 6y agoHaving a unique gauge stymied Nazi invasion logistics in the Great Patriotic War.
- db48x 6y agoThe German plan was actually to capture Russian rolling stock rather than to convert all of the rail lines. In practice they very rarely captured any trains that could be used; soldiers just love blowing things up. Both armies blew up tracks, signaling infrastructure, telephone and telegraph lines, etc. The Germans didn’t capture very many bridges either. I have a reference for that around here somewhere…
- brudgers 6y agoNeither did the western allied forces following D-day. One exception is in the recent documentary, Seize & Secure: The Battle for La Fière. I am starting to feel like a baby boomer studying for some WWII test.
- dylan604 6y agoWeren't the baby boomers the ones living in WWII? Not sure they'd be the ones doing the studying for a WWII test.
- layoutIfNeeded 6y agoLol, no! The baby boom was after WWII... You are confusing the boomers with thw Greatest Generation.
- dylan604 6y agoYou're totally right. I would have gotten that question wrong on the test. Guess I need to study harder myself
- CapitalistCartr 6y agoBaby Boomer were born ~1945-1965. Defined by being post-War.
- ajuc 6y agoRailway was a big thing for army. Poland uses European gauge because Germans modified most tracks in Poland to their standard during WW1 (Poland was partitioned between Russia, Germany and Austria before WW1 and Russian partition was by far the largest and used Russian gauge).
- layoutIfNeeded 6y agoNo. >It is widely and incorrectly believed that Imperial Russia chose a gauge broader than standard gauge for military reasons, namely to prevent potential invaders from using the rail system. In 1841 a Russian army engineer wrote a paper stating that such a danger did not exist since railways could be made dysfunctional by retreating or diverting forces. >[...] >When a railway has wooden sleepers, it is fairly easy to make the gauge narrower by removing the nails and placing them back at a narrower position, something Germany did during WWII. Destroying river bridges had a larger effect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_ft_and_1520_mm_gauge_railways https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_ft_and_1520_mm_gauge_railway...
- brudgers 6y agoI said nothing about the reasons for the different gauge. Only its effect.
- layoutIfNeeded 6y ago>it is fairly easy to make the gauge narrower by removing the nails and placing them back at a narrower position, something Germany did during WWII This doesn’t sound like it stymied the Germans much. Also look at the answer here: https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/23616/what-did-germany-do-in-world-war-ii-about-the-different-rail-gauge-in-the-soviet https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/23616/what-did-g... Do you need anyhing else to get convinced?
- brudgers 6y agoThe sources describe how Nazis dealt with the problem. Ergo it was a problem.
- layoutIfNeeded 6y agoI see, you don't want to "concede" so you're arguing about semantics now. I'm not gonna go there. You "won"!
- capableweb 6y ago> TIL: fascinating You might wanted to have those turned around: "Fascinating, Today I learned" instead of "Today I learned: Fascinating" as otherwise you're giving the impression that you learned the word "fascinating" today while the rest of the facts were already learned knowledge to you.
- intrepidhero 6y agoDespite being an internet citizen since AOL in the early 90s TIL was only a TIL for me in the last year. If I'm misusing it using maybe you could pretend I'm being ironically cool instead of socially awkward. KTHXB. LOL.
- capableweb 6y agoI don't think you're being socially awkward, misuse happens to everyone. I meant no harm with it, only aim to correct and enlighten, something that HN obviously doesn't welcome since my correction is being downvoted.