The standard distance between the rails on a railroad in the United States is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. It seems like an incredibly odd measurement to have. It probably would have been easier to simply make it 5 feet or 4.5 feet. But why is the standard that way and how did it happen?
Bill Holohan explains the history of the US standard railroad gauge in this Twitter thread. It's intriguing to say the least and the answer at the end is interesting, if not a little surprising though if there's one thing we should know by now, it is that history matters. A lot.
(Image credit: Tom Barrett/Unsplash)
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Yes, I too followed the thread to the debunk. I was surprised to learn of the nonstandard gauges of the southern railroads.
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https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/railroad-gauge-chariots/ comments that "The standard U.S. railroad gauge is similar in width to the wheel spacing of Roman chariots." but "That similarity is based much more on coincidence and inherent physical limitations than a direct line of imitation."
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