nivlark t1_iylltpr wrote
Reply to comment by ibw0trr in TIL that the southern United States converted all 11,500+ miles of its railroads from broad gauge (5 ft/1.524 m) to nearly-standard gauge (4 ft 9 in/1.448 m) in just 36 hours, starting on May 31, 1886 by 1859
They were always just an efficiency measure. Ring mains let you use less copper, which was in short supply in the UK during the post-war years when a lot of housing was being built to replace what had been lost to bombing.
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments