WI: Brunel's Broad Gauge was made standard in Britains railways?

The gauge of railway track in Britain was not standardised until the Regulating the Gauge of Railways Act 1846, in which 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm, commonly known as Standard Gauge) was adopted as the national, well, standard. An atlernative to this was Broad Gauge, pioneered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for his Great Western Railway, measuring 7 ft 1/4 in, or 2,140 mm.

Exeter.jpg

Basically, if a ner'do'well tied a damsel to the tracks, her head and feet wouldn't even touch either side.

Let's say the British of 1846 were won over by Brunel and decided conversion of the rest of the country to Broad Gauge was worth the initial cost. What are the difficulties and advantages of such a decision? How does it affect Brunel and GWR?
 
It cost a lot more to build and needs more land.
A lot depends on if the new gauge become the standard gauge in the rest of Europe.
More capacity in the long run.
 
Last edited:
Top