Gauge War

I invite you to think, for just a moment, about what you would engage in destruction of property for.

In the winter of 1853, citizens of Erie, Pennsylvania, ripped up railroad tracks.

You see, there were three different track gauges.

• Erie & the Northeast Railroad used 6ft

• Ohio decreed 4ft 10in

• New York Central used 4ft 8.5in

The Buffalo & State Line railroad switched to Ohio's standard. The Erie & Northeast Railroad were set to do the same.

This would allow Buffalo, NY to bypass Erie to Cleveland, OH.

At least one shot was fired in this war.