On the straight and narrow
The first, proper, train line in Spain was opened in October 1848 between Barcelona and Mataró. It was designed by an English Engineer called Joseph Locke, half the capital was English, the main contractors were called Mackenzie and Brassey and the four initial locomotives were built by a firm called Jones and Potts. That's why Spanish trains still drive on the left. It didn't occur to the British designers or engineers to do it any other way. They did however, make the same decision as I. K. Brunel (though he had to change his track later to fit in with the majority decision) to build to a wider gauge - 1.688 metres as against the more usual 1.435 metres. Just as in the UK the market was soon dominated by major companies but instead of the initials being GNER or LNR the Spanish ones were TBF (Tarragona, Barcelona, Francia), MZA (Madrid, Zaragoza, Alicante) and Ferrocarriles Andaluces (Andalusian railways.) Just like in the UK the fat years were followed by thin and a quango...