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Optimum gage does not matter at this time, but that does not mean that there is none.  It largely does not matter because there is nothing that we can do about it now.  However, it mattered a great deal back during the early development when everyone sought it and debated what the optimum gage was at that time.   <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> Look at it this way:  Say there are no railroads, but we have the whole concept fully designed except for the scale, which includes the gage.  And with that concept design, we are free to change any of the details such as wheels, rails, suspension, car lengths, etc. Say we intend to build a national rail system where all the components must be interchangeable and/or standardized like they actually are today.  Within this scenario, it is obvious that the choice of scale and gage is deadly serious because the optimum scale and gage will yield the maximum return on investment; and once committed and built, there can be no turning back.  In this scenario, the choice of gage matters tremendously.    This scenario is of course totally hypothetical because there is no practical application of it today.   Moreover, this scenario never fully occurred in the first place because the beginning fragments of railroad were free to experiment with gage because they did not interchange with each other.  Nevertheless, the hypothetical example I cite does serve to highlight the original question posed as the title of this thread and place it into a context in which it can be understood.
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