28 May
2010
28 May
'10
10:58 a.m.
I think that the British also experimented with 7'
once upon a time.
In the US, it was not until the early 1900 that things finally settled
upon "standard gauge". The earlier wide gauge lines had converted
sometime after the Civil War, and the various narrow gauges went away
as the lines went bankrupt, with a few converting to standard. Except
for light rail, underground, and tourist lines, there is only one
narrow gauge line left, and it is obviously an isolated system.
Keep in mind that wide gauge is not as good an idea as it seems - the
wider you get, the more difficult it is to make long wheelbases track
properly. The Russians figured this out the hard way.
--
Will