4 ms·
Just note Finland uses the Tsarist Russian 1524 mm gauge. Not the Allied Soviet 1520 mm gauge.
by Ekaros 1y ago
Just note Finland uses the Tsarist Russian 1524 mm gauge. Not the Allied Soviet 1520 mm gauge.
- freetonik 1y agoInteresting. In practice they seem compatible? There were frequent trains running between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg, I remember taking it and there was a seamless transition across the border.
- Ekaros 1y agoYes it is in tolerances. But the specification is different.
- alexey-salmin 1y agoAllegro train had 1522 wheelsets, effectively built for a non-existent gauge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VR_Class_Sm6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VR_Class_Sm6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_ft_and_1520_mm_gauge_railways#Technical https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_ft_and_1520_mm_gauge_railway...
- jabl 1y agoNot incidentally, 1524mm is exactly 5 feet. Which was the rail gauge widely used in the southern US states. The Russian tsar hired someone who had been building railroads in the US south to design his railroad, and here we are. The 1520mm was some Soviet effort to "metrify" their railways while keeping compatibility with existing rolling stock.
- HPsquared 1y agoI wonder if they actually made new trains etc 4mm smaller, or if it was in name only.
- alexey-salmin 1y agoIf I recall correctly, the rolling stock remained the same, tracks were re-railed and the 4mm came from tolerances that were historically very loose. So the stated goal was to get higher speed and stability from tighter tolerances. I also remember reading a long time ago that there were two engineering schools: one modeled that tighter tolerances would decrease oscillations and vibrations and the other predicted exactly the opposite. I think in the end they settled on natural experiments. Hope I didn't make this up, need to search for sources.