Thread by @GarethDennis

Annoyingly, this thread about US track gauge has gone viral. It is also entirely bollocks (other than US standard gauge being 1435mm).

Time for a quick thread... #RailwaysExplained

As the railways expanded across the US, several different track gauges became predominant, just as was the case in Europe (nope - the Romans nor horses bottoms had anything to do with track gauge)... #RailwaysExplained

By the 1860s, there were thousands of miles of track with gauges that didn't conform to Stephenson's original 4'8.5" - in fact only around half of the railways in the US used this gauge.

Then the civil war happened (no, not that one)... #RailwaysExplained

The American Civil War was the first war where railways played a crucial role, rapidly moving kit and men around where they were needed most.

Changing trains because of different gauges was no longer an annoyance - it was a matter of life or death, of winning or losing.

The predominant track gauge in the South was actually 5' gauge, so had the Confederacy won the American Civil War, the US would likely have adopted that as their standard gauge. Also other things 😬

I'll expand this thread next week, because the real explanations (yes, there are several) for where Stephenson's 4'8.5" came from are far less romantic and far more interesting than @BillHolohanSolr's horse's arse of a story #RailwaysExplained

Also... track gauge and loading gauge (see thread) are largely independent of each other.