2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways

Last updated
A BL 9.2-inch howitzer with shells lined up on the ground recently delivered from the trench railway in the foreground during World War I. C01364-9.2 inch howitzer Ypres 1917.jpg
A BL 9.2-inch howitzer with shells lined up on the ground recently delivered from the trench railway in the foreground during World War I.

Two foot and 600 mm gauge railways are narrow gauge railways with track gauges of 2 ft (610 mm) and 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in), respectively. Railways with similar, less common track gauges, such as 1 ft 11+3⁄4 in (603 mm) and 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm), are grouped with 2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways.

Contents

Overview

The Chemins de fer du Calvados' Caen station in France. CAEN - La Gare des Chemins de fer du Calvados.jpg
The Chemins de fer du Calvados' Caen station in France.
A steam outline Schoma diesel locomotive on the Pelion railway in Greece. Pilionbahn in milies.JPG
A steam outline Schöma diesel locomotive on the Pelion railway in Greece.
The Groudle Glen Railway Sea Lion locomotive c. 1910 on the Isle of Man. 'Sea Lion', Groudle Glen Railway (All About Railways, Hartnell).jpg
The Groudle Glen Railway Sea Lion locomotive c. 1910 on the Isle of Man.
The Tateyama Sabo Erosion Control Works Service Train in Japan. Tateyama Sabo Mizutani.jpg
The Tateyama Sabō Erosion Control Works Service Train in Japan.
Beira Railroad Corporation Class F4 No. 38 in Mozambique. Beira Railway F4.jpg
Beira Railroad Corporation Class F4 No. 38 in Mozambique.
The gasoline engine Crown Prince of the Otavi Mining and Railway Company in South West Africa (now Namibia). This railcar was able to reach a speed of 137 kilometres (85 mi) per hour. OMEG 1914.png
The gasoline engine Crown Prince of the Otavi Mining and Railway Company in South West Africa (now Namibia). This railcar was able to reach a speed of 137 kilometres (85 mi) per hour.
The Efteling Steam Train Company, located in Efteling in the Netherlands, runs some locomotives that are more than a century old. Efteling Stoomtrein.jpg
The Efteling Steam Train Company, located in Efteling in the Netherlands, runs some locomotives that are more than a century old.
Lyd2 locomotive built by 23 August Locomotive Works (FAUR) in Romania. Lyd2 Bieszczady.jpg
Lyd2 locomotive built by 23 August Locomotive Works (FAUR) in Romania.
A Spoornet Class 91-000 on the Avontuur Railway in South Africa. Datei-Urlaub Sudafrika 2009 458.jpg
A Spoornet Class 91-000 on the Avontuur Railway in South Africa.
A locomotive and turntable on the Ostra Sodermanlands Jarnvag in Sweden. Hamra3.jpg
A locomotive and turntable on the Östra Södermanlands Järnväg in Sweden.

Most of these lines are tourist lines, which are often heritage railways or industrial lines, such as the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales and the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado.

World War I trench railways produced the greatest concentration of 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge railways to date. In preparation for World War II, the French Maginot Line and Alpine Line also used 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge railways for supply routes to the fixed border defenses.

Australia has over 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) of 2 ft (610 mm) gauge sugar cane railway networks in the coastal areas of Queensland, which carry more than 30 million tonnes of sugar cane a year.

Many 2 ft (610 mm) gauge and 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge railways are used in amusement parks and theme parks worldwide.

Exchange of rolling stock

The interchange of rolling stock between these similar track gauges occasionally occurred; for example, the South African Class NG15 2-8-2 locomotives started their career on the 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge. The Otavi Mining and Railway Company in South West Africa (now Namibia) were transferred to the 2 ft gauge railways in South Africa and currently some surviving locomotives reside in Wales on the 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) gauge Welsh Highland Railway and the 1 ft 11+3⁄4 in (603 mm) gauge Brecon Mountain Railway.

Railways

Country/territoryRailwayGauge
Albania 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Angola 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Argentina 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Australia 2 ft (610 mm)
Austria 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Belarus 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Belgium 2 ft (610 mm)
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Brazil 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Brunei 2 ft (610 mm)
Bulgaria 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Burundi 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Cambodia 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Canada 2 ft (610 mm)
Cameroon 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Central African Republic 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Chile 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
China 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Comoros 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Czech Republic 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Democratic Republic of the Congo 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Denmark
  • Bunkermuseum Hanstholm museum (MuseumsCenter Hanstholm) railway is preserved. [11] [12]
  • Stenvad Mosebrug (Stenvad Mosebrugscenter), Mosebrugsbanen peat museum railway is preserved. [13] [14] [15] [16]
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Egypt 2 ft (610 mm)
Eritrea 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Estonia 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Falkland Islands 2 ft (610 mm)
Fiji 2 ft (610 mm)
Finland 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
France 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Germany 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Greece 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Greenland 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Guatemala 2 ft (610 mm)
Hong Kong 2 ft (610 mm)
Hungary 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Iceland 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
India 2 ft (610 mm)
Indonesia
  • Sugar mill railways in Java such as Jatiwangi (mill closed), Jatibarang (in use), Pangka (in use), Sragi (in use), Cepiring (mill closed), Soedhono (in use), Tulangan (in use), Panji (rail operation closed), and Gending (rail operation closed) [17]
  • Local tram service in Karawang and Rambipuji, all closed.
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Isle of Man 2 ft (610 mm)
Italy 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Japan 2 ft (610 mm)
Laos 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Latvia 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Lithuania 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
North Macedonia
  • Skopje - Ohrid line; 167 km (partially converted to standard gauge)
  • Gradsko - Bitola (defunct)
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Madagascar
  • Sugar cane, industrial and military railways [22] (defunct)
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Mauritius
  • A network of sugar cane railways [23] (defunct)
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Mexico 2 ft (610 mm)
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Montenegro
  • Podgorica - Plavnica railway (defunct)
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Morocco 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Mozambique 2 ft (610 mm)
Myanmar 2 ft (610 mm)
Namibia 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Nauru 2 ft (610 mm)
Netherlands 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
New Zealand 2 ft (610 mm)
Norway
  • Åmdals Verk Gruver; [25] 0.6 km (operating)
  • Gruvemuseet pa Litlabo [25] (operating)
  • Høyanger funicular (operating)
  • Kristiansand Kanonmuseum [25] (operating)
  • Lommedalsbanen; [25] 0.6 km (operating)
  • Sulitjelma Besøksgruve [25] (operating)
  • Stiftelsen Konnerudverket; [25] 0.5 km (operating)
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Palestine 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Papua New Guinea 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Pakistan 2 ft (610 mm)
Philippines
  • Manila–Dagupan Railway (operated within Manila yards c. 1907) (defunct)
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Poland 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Portugal 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Rwanda 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Somalia 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
South Africa 2 ft (610 mm)
South Korea 2 ft (610 mm)
Spain 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Sudan 2 ft (610 mm)
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Sweden 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Switzerland 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Taiwan 2 ft (610 mm)
Tanzania 2 ft (610 mm)
Thailand 2 ft (610 mm)
Togo 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Turkey 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
United Kingdom 2 ft (610 mm);
1 ft 11+3⁄4 in (603 mm);
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in);
1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm)
United States 2 ft (610 mm)
Zimbabwe 2 ft (610 mm)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-gauge railway</span> Railway line with a gauge less than the standard of 1435 mm (4 ft 8 1/2 in)

A narrow-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge narrower than 1,435 mmstandard gauge. Most narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm and 1,067 mm.

HOn30 gauge is the modelling of narrow-gauge railways in HO on N gauge track in 1:87 scale ratio.

<i>Feldbahn</i> German term for narrow-gauge field railway used to transport raw materials

A Feldbahn, or Lorenbahn, is the German term for a narrow-gauge field railway, usually not open to the public, which in its simplest form provides for the transportation of agricultural, forestry and industrial raw materials such as wood, peat, stone, earth and sand. Such goods are often transported in tipper wagons, known in German as Loren, hence such a railway is also referred to as a Lorenbahn.

The Otavi Mining and Railway Company was a railway and mining company in German South West Africa. It was founded on 6 April 1900 in Berlin with the Disconto-Gesellschaft and the South West Africa Company as major shareholders.

Rail transport in Morocco was initially developed during the protectorate. It functioned primarily as a means to mobilize colonial troops and to transport natural resources. Later, a standard-gauge network was built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Track gauge in the United States</span> Widths of railway tracks

Originally, various track gauges were used in the United States. Some railways, primarily in the northeast, used standard gauge of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in ; others used gauges ranging from 2 ft to 6 ft. As a general rule, southern railroads were built to one or another broad gauge, mostly 5 ft, while northern railroads that were not standard-gauge tended to be narrow-gauge. The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1863 specified standard gauge.

A number of narrow-gauge lines survive, largely as a consequence of German reunification, in the former East Germany where some of them form part of the public transport system as active commercial carriers. Most extensive of those still employing steam traction is the Harz mountain group of metre-gauge lines, the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen. Other notable lines are the Zittau–Oybin–Jonsdorf line in Saxony, the Mollibahn and the Rügensche Kleinbahn on the Isle of Rügen on the Baltic coast and the Radebeul-Radeburg line, Weisseritztalbahn in the suburbs of Dresden. Although most rely on the tourist trade, in some areas they provide significant employment as steam traction is particularly labour-intensive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-gauge railways in Poland</span>

There are hundreds of kilometres of 600 mm, 750 mm, 785 mm, and 1,000 mm narrow-gauge lines in Poland. The metre-gauge lines are mostly found in the northwest part of the country in Pomerania, while 785 mm lines are found only in the Upper Silesia region. 750 mm is the most commonly used narrow gauge; it is used, for example, in the Rogów Narrow Gauge Railway and in Tarnowskie Góry with the world's oldest narrow-gauge railway in continuous service since 1853. Some narrow-gauge lines in Poland still operate as common carrier, while others survive as tourist attractions. One of the finest of the latter is the 600 mm narrow-gauge railway running from Żnin via Wenecja and famous Biskupin to Gąsawa in the Pałuki region. Railway traditions of Pałuki date back to July 1894 when the first two lines were opened.

The French National Railways used to run a considerable number of 1,000 mmmetre gauge lines, a few of which still operate mostly in tourist areas, such as the St Gervais-Vallorcine (Alps) and the "Petit Train Jaune" in the Pyrenees. The original French scheme was that every sous-prefecture should be rail connected. Extensive 600 mm gauge lines were also built for the sugar-beet industry in the north often using ex-military equipment after the First World War. Decauville was a famous French manufacturer of industrial narrow-gauge railway equipment and equipped one of the most extensive regional 600 mm narrow-gauge railway, the Chemins de fer du Calvados. Corsica has a narrow-gauge network of two lines following the coast line, that are connected by one line crossing the island through highly mountainous terrain. The petit train d'Artouste, a tourist line in the Pyrenees, uses 500 mm gauge.

Numerous industrial narrow-gauge lines were built for peat extraction, clay extraction for brickworks and construction sites. The dominant gauge for industrial lines was 700 mm, contrary to the 600 mm gauge used in neighbouring countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-gauge railways in Finland</span> Finnish rail below standard gauge

The vast majority of Finnish narrow-gauge railways were owned and operated by private companies. There are only a few instances where narrow-gauge railways were in direct connection with each other, and those interchanges did not last for long. The railways never formed a regional rail traffic network, but were only focused on maintaining connections between the national Russian-gauge railway network and the off-line industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-gauge railways in Hungary</span>

The former Austria-Hungary empire had a narrow-gauge rail network thousands of kilometres in length, most of it using Bosnian gauge 760 mm or 600 mm gauge, constructed between 1870 and 1920. Landlords, mines, agricultural and forest estates established their own branch lines which, as they united into regional networks, increasingly played a role in regional passenger traffic. Following the Treaty of Trianon some railways were cut by the new border, many remained on the territory of Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Due to a lack of intact roads, following World War II in many places narrow-gauge railway was the only reasonable way to get around. In 1968 the Communist government started to implement a policy to dismantle the narrow-gauge network in favour of road traffic. Freight haulage on the few remaining lines continued to decline until 1990 from when a patchwork of railways was gradually taken over by associations and forest managements for tourist purposes. State Railways operated narrow-gauge railways at Nyíregyháza and Kecskemét that played a role in regional transport until December 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-gauge railways in Africa</span>

Narrow-gauge railways are common in Africa, where great distances, challenging terrain and low cost have made the narrow gauges attractive. Many nations, particularly in Southern Africa, including the extensive South African Railway network (Spoornet), use a 3 ft 6 in gauge. Metre gauge is also common, as in the case of the Uganda Railway. There used to be extensive 2 ft and 600 mm gauge networks in countries such as Morocco, Congo, Angola, Namibia and South Africa, but these have mostly been dismantled or converted. Some also survive in Egypt: in the countryside around Luxor, narrow-gauge railways are used for the transportation of sugar cane.

Europe inherited a diversity of rail gauges. Extensive narrow-gauge railway networks exist in Spain, Central Europe and Southeastern Europe.

Metre and 3 ft gauge lines are found in South America. Some of the 1,000 mm gauge lines cross international borders, though not as efficiently as they might.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-gauge railways in former French Morocco</span>

French Morocco had from 1912 to 1935 one of the largest 600 mm gauge network in Africa with a total length of more than 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi). After the treaty of Algeciras where the representatives of Great Powers agreed not to build any 1,435 mm standard-gauge railway in Morocco until the standard-gauge Tangier–Fes railway being completed, the French begun to build military 600 mm gauge lines in their part of Morocco French Morocco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways in the United Kingdom</span>

A list of 2 ft, 1 ft 11+3⁄4 in, 600 mm, and 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 ft gauge railways in Australia</span>

A list of 2 ft narrow-gauge railways in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohrid line</span> Defunct railway line in North Macedonia

The Ohrid line was a narrow gauge railway line in what is now the Republic of North Macedonia. It ran to a gauge of 600 mm.

References

  1. ↑ The Very Special Electric Tramway in Valle Hermoso, Argentina
  2. ↑ Railways of the Far South - The Ushuaia prison railway & the FCAF
  3. ↑ World Wide Listing of Two foot, 1' 11 1/2", 600 mm (60cm) & 610mm Railroads (from archive.org) - Argentina
  4. ↑ "Music Express - Walibi Belgium - Pretparken.be" . Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "The Vennbahn: Belgium's railway through Germany". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  6. ↑ "Canadian Rail No, 439 - The Magazine of Canada's Railway History" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-07-25. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  7. ↑ "Niagara Rails - Other Lines". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  8. ↑ Exploration Place Museum and Science Centre - official website
  9. ↑ "Iconic Port Elgin beach train station demolished". Shoreline Beacon. May 20, 2020.
  10. 1 2 Railways of the Far South - Chiloe Island
  11. ↑ https://bunkermuseumhanstholm.dk/oplev-museet/museumsbanen/
  12. ↑ http://www.smalspor.dk/search_alt001.asp
  13. ↑ https://stenvadmosebrugscenter.dk/uk/
  14. ↑ https://stenvadmosebrugscenter.dk/narrow-gauge-railway/
  15. ↑ https://stenvadmosebrugscenter.dk/mosebanen/
  16. ↑ https://www.jernbanen.dk/forum2/index.php?mode=thread&id=36041
  17. ↑ World Wide Listing of Two foot, 1' 11 1/2", 600 mm (60cm) & 610mm Railroads (from archive.org) - Java
  18. ↑ "RailScape - Musashino-Mura". Archived from the original on 2014-02-25. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  19. ↑ Musashino-Mura - official website
  20. ↑ Steamlocomotive.info - Chiba
  21. ↑ Narita Yume Bokujō Railway - official website
  22. ↑ Industrial Heritage in Madagascar, 2012
  23. ↑ Narrow Gauge Railway Relics in Mauritius, 2012
  24. ↑ Preserved Narrow Gauge Steam in Mexico 2012, Part 2
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Directory of preserved narrow gauge railways in Norway". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  26. ↑ Changa Manga Forest Railway
  27. ↑ "Severn Lamb - News Archive". Archived from the original on 2011-12-02. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  28. 1 2 3 4 "Trams of the World 2017" (PDF). Blickpunkt Straßenbahn. January 24, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Listadotren.es - Funicular de Molinos (Lleida)". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  30. ↑ "Tren Minero de Utrillas". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  31. ↑ Funimag - "Die Puschlaver Geisterbahn" Cavaglia
  32. ↑ 610 mm gauge Shurugwi Railway
  33. ↑ Shurugwi Peak Railway, Zimbabwe
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.