On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 02:51:37 -0000, wrote:

In fact, the origins of the standard gauge considerably predate the Roman
Empire, and may even predate the invention of the wheel. The width of
prehistoric vehicles was determined by number of interacting factors which
gave rise to a fairly standard vehicle width of a little under 2 metres
(6.6 ft) These factors have changed little over the millenia, and are still
reflected in today's motor vehicles."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_gauge

Yep. Put two people comfortably on a bench and measure the width of
the bench. That's the minimum cart width. They probably should have
changed over the millenia as we are becoming larger and more rotund.

I dunno about the "standard" gauge. There seems to be quite a few
not-so-standard gauges in use:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_gauges

Of course, the US standards were established in the time honored
traditional methods of politics, rhetoric, violence, and open warfa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Gauge_War



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Jeff Liebermann
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