Brunel's wider railway gauge and infrastructure

Brunel's preference for a wider railway gauge provides a non-naval example of technological path choice. The wider gauge could have supported bigger, faster, and more useful trains, though they would have taken corners differently. Standard gauge won because it was easier to fit around existing infrastructure, and an Act of Parliament formalized the choice. Engineering merit alone did not determine adoption because compatibility, investment, and institutions also shaped what became standard. The section closes with a counterfactual about how rail transport might look if Brunel's gauge had prevailed.