Posted - 5 years 5 months ago
Did you know that the railroad width in most of Europe, North America, China and Australia matches the width of Roman horse-drawn wagons? The Roman Empire had an incredibly advanced road network. It was essential for governing, military movements and trade, and thanks to a 250,000-mile network, the Romans were able to effectively control their huge empire, stretching from modern-day England to Egypt at its peak. Roman horse-drawn wagons had a similar width, which resulted in ...them leaving the same road markings. After the Roman Empire collapsed, many of the Roman roads were still being used on a regular basis, and for many centuries, new wagons were constructed with the same distance between wheels so that they could utilize the existing roads. Legend has it that George Stephenson, an English civil engineer who designed the first railroad, picked the very same width since, even in the early 19th century, many wagons were still built using the same requirements. Therefore, a standard width of 4 feet 8.5 inches was a logical one. Whether this is simply a coincidence or actually a correlation is still a subject of debate for modern historians. Some believe that George Stephenson had other reasons for his design. Nevertheless, the railroads were a huge success, and many countries all over the world adopted them using Mr. Stephensons specifications, thereby matching the standard Roman wagon width. It is truly remarkable to see many railroads around the world still using ancient Roman standards today! Play Jewels of Rome FREE
Freebie Link
Total Number Of Clicks: | 0 |
Helpful  |
Not Helpful  |