The Standardization of Track Gauge on North American Railways, 1830–1890

@article{Puffert2000TheSO,
  title={The Standardization of Track Gauge on North American Railways, 1830–1890},
  author={Douglas J. Puffert},
  journal={The Journal of Economic History},
  year={2000},
  volume={60},
  pages={933 - 960}
}
Early North American railways chose different track gauges partly on the basis of differing engineering traditions and partly for mutual compatibility. The resulting dynamic process produced nine district common-guage regions by the 1860s. Growing demand for interregional traffic and increasing among railways yielded incentives to resolve this diversity, and the specific regional pattern of gauges led to selection pf 4'8.5” as the continental standard. The case offers support for aspects of… 
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