The story of the rail gauge being 4ft 8.5in because of the Roman's is just that a story. The Stockton and Darlington Railway was originally built to 4ft 8in to allow the passage of colliery wagons which were often of this gauge. This gauge was originally called Stephenson Gauge, it was later increased to 4ft 8.5in. It didn't get called Standard Gauge until the passage of the Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act of 1846 when the standard gauge for railways in Britain was set at 4ft 8.5in (in Ireland it was set at 5ft 3in or Irish Standard Gauge). This Act didn't prevent the building of lines to the Brunel Gauge of 7ft 0.25in, but these lines had to physically connect to lines already built to the Brunel gauge.

The actual reason Russia adopted the five foot gauge (according to my information) was that the Russian government hired an American railroad engineer, George Whistler (father of the painter, James McNeill Whistler) to construct the first railroads in the country. Whistler was most familiar with the five foot gauge, which was common in the United States in the 19th century.

Another great video. My kudos to all who made this video. Thank you very much. Be safe and healthy please.

The 'Toronto gauge' came about because, as the more popular story goes, city fathers did not want heavy train cars running down the middle of Toronto streets. Thus, all of Toronto's streetcar network and three of the four subway lines use this gauge. (The Scarborough RT and the soon-to-open Egglinton LRT use standard gauge.)

Just so folks know, you have 3 rails in much of the UK, but it isn't to enable different gauges. The 3rd rail lies outside the normal 2 and is a power line. You DO NOT want to touch this, it is seriously high voltage and will fry you. Just thought I'd put this comment for people who aren't used to electrified rails. Really good vids by the way.

The list of wide gauge included the "Toronto" or "TTC" gauge. This is used for the streetcars and subways, though not the new LRT lines, which are standard gauge. There are two reasons given for the wide gauge. One is so that wheeled wagons could fit the rails and the other was to keep steam powered railway locomotives off those tracks. Also, the Canadian province of Newfoundland had a narrow gauge line, but it was pulled up several years ago, leaving no railway at all in the province. Prior to that, the trucks on the rail cars were swapped, out when the cars were moved to/from the ferry boats that connected Newfoundland with Nova Scotia. One interesting bit of trivia is there was one stretch of track where the trains had to be tied down during storms, to keep them from being blown over. This railway was also the longest narrow gauge line on the continent.

Fun fact, the smallest public railway in the world is the British Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, with 15 inch track

Thanks Ken, for mentioning the Caledonia Mississippi Western RR and look forward to more on the historic CM&W boxcar

Good video. Keep 'em coming!

The actual width was decided in Northern England when colleiry horses pulled wagons first of all on wooden beams ,then changed to iron rails for durabilty ,the width was so a horse could walk between , the first tracks were not fixed on sleepers but on little supports , a section of original track still exists in northern England.

I did the narrow gauge trip up pikes peak in Colorado. What a trip!

Hey Ken, how about a video about what it takes to repair the track(s) along the Scenic Railroad spur. I am sure you have some information that you can sure. I've watch a lot of unique rail and tie repairs and replacement here on youtube from Europe. Great series as usual! Look forward to watching all the new ones. :-)

Another broad gauge was Brunel's Great Western Railway in the UK, gauge of 7 feet and 1/4 inch (2,140mm)

Hey Ken I've ben watching this videos and love them, I'm from North Central PA but you for got a narrow gauge that was closed but is open again and that is The East Broad Top in Central PA.

I was wondering why that track on the right has 3 rails & now I know. I learn something new everyday.

Most recent example of using a track gauge different from all other lines: the Gautrain in South Africa. One reason for its use of standard gauge may be to prevent encroachment by any other rail system in South Africa, which all run on 1065mm Cape Gauge. More practically, the Gautrain uses Bombardier Electrostar EMUs designed for regional rail in the UK but modified for the Gautrain.

Great Video! I was wondering how combined gauges go through switches? Pehaps a future video!

Cool video

As a historian, I spent years researching this topic. I have yet to find a single reputable source that can definitively link the width the Roman chariot wheels to the 4 feet, 8 1/2 inch gauge established by George Stephenson, an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer during the Industrial Revolution, renowned as the "Father of Railways.”

Love those SOO LINE engines!