> Wolf "Heh. Now explain how the U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) was set at 4 ft 8 1/2 in (1.44 m). Is it true that this odd gauge number doesn't actually begin with Roman war chariots, but was developed even earlier when the OT Oral History was first being compiled?" spirit

As I understand it, it goes something like this (in reverse chronological order):

US railway engineers were recruited from Britain, and used numbers and sizes that they were familiar with there.

British railway engineers used that gauge because Stephenson had used it, and no-one saw any point in building new railways that the older trains couldn't use.

Stephenson used that guage because his first models had used standard cart axles, because they were cheap, plentiful and a standad length.

Cart axles were that length because the previous ruts in the road were that far apart. Using a different length axle would have led to a very bumpy ride.

The ruts in the roads date back to Roman times, when most traffic was war charriots. They used a length of axle that would comfortably allow two horse fixings.

winter"before that, I don't know"mute