In the report, we explain, among other things, how the 1435 mm gauge came about:

For the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which went into operation in 1825, Stephenson used the 4 feet 8 inches = 1420 mm gauge previously used in the coal mines. He also wanted to be able to use the hundreds of horse-drawn wagons that were already in use on the freight wagon lines in the mines. After 15 years, the railway was converted to the 1435 mm (4 feet, 8½ inches) gauge that Stephenson had been using since the Liverpool-Manchester railway opened in 1830. By adding an extra ½ inch, Stephenson gave the wagons additional freedom of movement and smooth running, reducing the risk of them getting stuck on curves.

The governmental Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act of 1846 stipulated that new railways in Great Britain would be built with a standard gauge of 4 feet 8½ inches (1435 mm) and in Ireland with a new standard gauge of 5 feet 3 inches (1600 mm). After an interim period of mixed gauge operation (the tracks were laid with three rails), the Great Western Railway GWR, which had previously operated on a 1600 mm gauge, also completed the conversion of its network to standard gauge in 1892.

As a result, many countries adopted this gauge as the national standard gauge, which led to the term standard gauge. In Germany too – the first functioning steam locomotive on a railway on German soil, the ADLER, came from the Stephenson factory. It was also driven by an employee of this company on the inaugural journey on the Nuremberg-Fürth route on December 7, 1835. hfs