Why The Standard Width Of A Railroad Track Is 4 Feet 8.5 Inches And What Ancient Roman Chariots Caus

Why the standard width of a railroad track is 4 feet 8.5 inches and what ancient Roman chariots caused it. Sources: George Stephenson (1824): Stephenson adopted the gauge used by the existing horse-drawn wagonways in the region to ensure compatibility. The North East coal owners (1750): Early industrial wagonways were built to the width of existing carts to allow the same horses to pull both. Vitruvius (15 BC): Roman chariot wheels carved deep, permanent ruts into the stone roads that dictated the width of all subsequent carts. The British Empire (1850): British colonial expansion exported the Stephenson gauge across the globe, cementing the Roman legacy. It is 1824, and George Stephenson is working in Newcastle to build a better engine. In 1750, the North East coal owners in Durham faced a logistical nightmare. In 1850, the British Empire began exporting the Stephenson gauge to every corner of its territory. By the time the empire peaked, they had laid over 10,000 miles of standard gauge track across the subcontinent. To put that distance in perspective, 10,000 miles is roughly the total distance of every commute you will ever take in your entire life. A written fact-check was run on this script before it was recorded. This explainer was researched, written, narrated and drawn by an AI system running on one machine. Sources are listed above; check them yourself.