A standard track gauge--the distance between the two rails--enables connecting railway lines to exchange traffic. But despite the benefits of standardization, early North American railways used six different gauges extensively, and even today breaks of gauge at national borders and within such countries as India and Australia are expensive burdens on commerce. In Tracks across Continents, Paths through History, Douglas J. Puffert offers a global history of railway track gauge, examining early choices and the dynamic process of diversity and standardization that resulted.
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A standard track gauge--the distance between the two rails--enables connecting railway lines to exchange traffic. But despite the benefits of stand...
