The Day The Gauge Changed

The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 was not the only amazing feat of American railroad engineering in history. In 1886, railways in the south managed to convert the gauge on an estimated 11,500 miles of track in a period of just 36 hours. The History Guy remembers the 1886 Southern Railroad Gauge Change, an important moment in railroad history.

The photographs used in the episode are Public Domain images from the age of steam. As photos of actual events are sometimes not available, I will often use photographs of similar events and objects for illustration.

The economic analysis mentioned in the episode is available here: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/ite...

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The episode is intended for educational purposes. All events are presented in historical context.

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