"Boltar" wrote in message
oups.com...
As I was sitting on the DLR the other day with the train squeeling its
way round
yet another sharp curve, it suddenly struck me - why did they use
standard gauge
track? Surely a narrow gauge would be far better suited to the tight
curves on the line?
Its not as if they'd have had any trouble procuring equipment for
narrow gauge
since plenty of light rail narrow gauge systems operate in europe. And
the DLR
is completely self contained with no physical links to any other
railway so thats
not a concern. Anyone know why they didn't use say metre gauge?

B2003

Sharp curves have been on standard gauge for years - trams in British
systems were mostly of standard gauge, and they went around very sharp
curves as they turned from one street to another. The new light rail
systems are also of standard gauge.

Have you noticed that most narrow gauge rolling stock is narrow, whereas DLR
is quite wide. If you have wide stock on narrow gauge tracks, there is a
potential problem with stability.

If there is squealing on curves, this could be addressed by flange
lubricators. I took quite a few trips on DLR a couple of months back, and I
didn't notice that occurring.

Regards

David Bennetts
Australia