NASAISTOCK/TINA RENCEIJISTOCK/JEFF BERGENThere are some very interesting comments
from your reader in your June issue lead
letter, regarding any thoughts of changing
South Africa’s rail gauge.
Just to sidetrack a little (pun intended).
a little interesting history about railway
gauges, which many of your readers may
not be aware of.
George Stephenson built the first public
transport steam locomotive, followed sev-
eral years later by his son Robert, and his
world famous “Rocket”, thus introducing
the rail gauge of 4 foot 8½ inches. This
gauge is the standard throughout Britain
and many parts of the world to this day.
Of course, many years previously, coal
mines in the north-east of England were
using various steam-driven transporting
contraptions on various gauge tracks. I
have deliberately omitted mention of the
numerous other experimental transport
systems at the time.
Stephenson was doing his thing in the
north-east; an engineer named Isambard
Brunel (to many, and to me, the finest
engineer of all time) was busy in the
south of the country with a rail gauge of
7 feet. It took a Royal Commission at the
time to adjudicate which gauge should be
the British Standard. Stephenson’s was
selected on the basis that there had beenWRITE TO US, ENGAGE IN DEBATE l [email protected]
AUGUST 2017 _ http://www.popularmechanics.co.za 7OF ROMAN CHARIOTS AND SPACE SHUTTLES SIPPING THE FOG
In response to your correspondent Grant Vanderwagen (“Mist opportunities”, Letters,
July), regarding the harvesting of water from fog, great idea. Based on my own expe-
rience, I can endorse the principle. The arid west coasts of the world could well
become significant water-harvesting “farms” of the future.
For 20 years, we enjoyed a beach cottage at Elands Bay. Some mornings our deck,
under a roof, appeared to have been hit by an appreciable rain-shower overnight.
Geoffrey Jenkins wrote of cairns of rocks, erected in coastal-desert rock-basins, pro-
ducing perennial water, both used by the peoples of pre-history and the local wildlife.
A warning: corrosion will be one of your greatest enemies. Again from personal
experience, it was found that any metal, short of surgical stainless, will be attacked.
Good luck... maybe we can enjoy a whisky and fog, one sundown.
KEITH HONEYMAN
BY EMAILconsiderably more track laid, this despite
the fact that Brunel’s gauge produced a
lower centre of gravity of locomotive and
carriage, resulting in superior stability,
higher speeds and better all-round efficiency.
As an interesting historical footnote, the
original mining railways followed the
gauge of underground timber tracks for pit
ponies to transport coal wagons to the
surface, and generally followed from the
network of rutted roads for horse-drawn
carriages. This very rough standardisation
of gauge was to eliminate unnecessary
damage to carts, axles and stagecoaches
that travelled the roads of England, thus
keeping them on track. This standardisation
had followed the paths of the previous
invasion forces of the Roman Empire, and
its many horse-drawn chariots.
How did the Romans arrive at their
chariot gauge? Well, rather naturally, it
was the decreed and adopted standard
wheel centres to accommodate two war-
horse backsides.
More recently, the space shuttle booster
rockets are transported from their Utah
factory to their launching site on a rail
network, through several tunnels that
have the clearances of the original railway
gauge of 4 foot 8½ inches. So, it seems,
that solid rocket booster sizes were
restricted by the previously adopted
“Roman War Horse Backside Gauge”!
IAN J GILMOUR
CAPE TOWN
TOASTER 2.
A new toaster? Come off it, I have seen
them all.
A new toaster, recently patented
though not on the market yet, holds the
promise to become one of the most popu-
lar patents ever to leave the shores ofAfrica. With an outside appearance very
much the same as a conventional toaster’s,
the inside differs in the sense that the
heating plates are rectangular-shaped,
with a loose and removable inner section
that is similarly shaped. This results in
two slices of bread toasted together on
three sides – a cavity between them and
an opening on one side.
Unlike with conventional toasters, fresh
vegetables – think tomatoes, onions, lettuce- can now be added after the toasting pro-
cess. With three sides toasted together, it
is very much gravy- or sauce-friendly.
Help yourself to the maximum, because
once inside, it stays inside. Before filling,
the insides of the bread can be used for
any spread; it all adds up to the taste of
freshness.
Any meat leftovers, which are normally
not very tasty, can now be transferred
into a meal fit for a king. Freshly made
filling options are unlimited, and hampered
by your imagination only. Be it breakfast,
lunch or supper time, this new cavity
toaster is sheer enjoyment. You don’t dish
up, you dish in.
Needless to say, this will lead the way to
a new and exciting “cavity burger”. (Just
be patient, it is coming your way.)
I have spent quite some time on devel-
oping the toaster and was able to make it
more user-friendly. After having conducted
an independent search, nothing similar
could be found. As far as legal protection
is concerned I am covered well into next
year. Funds will be available before the
expiry date for final filing in a few coun-
tries, including the USA. Marketing is
now my main aim.
ALBERT STANFORD
BUFFELSPOORT, NW