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Interesting read. One thing to add: The Russians used interchangeability to their advantage in WWI (around the time of the second peak on the chart). While other countries were busy getting on with efficient trade, Russia deliberately designed their railroads to have a different gauge than the rest of mainland Europe. This made travel and trade nightmarish under normal circumstances, but it prevented the Germans from rapidly invading. If they wanted to invade, they needed to capture rail stock from the Russians and transfer all their cargo at the border; or they could lay new line as needed. Each took tons of effort, manpower and time.
smoorman1024 · 4574 days ago · link ·
So this article is pretty interesting if you like history, technology, prognostication.