An odd conversion...

[nachoman]

I'd love to know if their is some particular reason that meter gauge, despite being only around 3" wider than 3' gauge, developed so much more like standard gauge than 3' did. I wonder how much of it was due to the lack of desire to invest in 3' gauge...as opposed to what advantage their was in the extra 3" of space.

I suspect it has to do with geopolitical and socio-economic situations in the places where meter gauge was common. Here in the US, the most of the pre-1910 3-foot lines were supplanted by better roads and automobiles. Due to the smaller train sizes, the narrow gauges probably faced greater competition from trucks. The places where narrow gauges hung on were mostly remote and mountainous, and penetration by decent roads was much slower than in the flat midwest. Now look at much of latin america - often remote, mountainous, and less public highway infrastructure. the railroads already exist, so why waste money improving a road to replace them?