Re: [DL] Question

["John Goff" <JohnGoff@deadlands.com>]

> How wide, and how long, would a standard train car be in the time period
> represented by Deadlands (about 1877 for Darroch's information)?
>

You know, this is startlingly hard to discover. I have a book dedicated to
trains of the Old West, and I couldn't find a single listing. I had to work
from photographs and calculate the size from the figures standing alongside
the train...

Length varied by as much as 50% depending on the line and locomotive.
Smaller cars ran around 24'-25' while the big, luxurious ones hit 36'-38' or
longer.

Width was pretty standard (on the lines that used the national standard of
4' 8" rail width) at about 7'-8'.

> I am looking to do some plans for various train cars, and would like at
> least a semblance of historical accuracy.
>

Hope that helps,

John