This list presents an overview of railway track gauges by size. A gauge is measured between the inner faces of the rails.
3 ft gauge (914 mm)
Meter gauge (1,000 mm)
Cape gauge (1,067 mm)
Standard gauge (1,435 mm)
Russian gauge (1,520 mm)
Five foot gauge (1,524 mm) Irish gauge (1,600 mm)
Iberian gauge (1,668 mm)
Indian gauge (1,676 mm)
Track gauges by size edit
Minimum and ridable miniature railways edit
For ridable miniature railways and minimum gauge railways, the gauges are overlapping. There are also some extreme narrow gauge railways listed. See: Distinction between a ridable miniature railway and a minimum gauge railway for clarification.
Model railway gauges are covered in rail transport modelling scales.
Narrow gauge edit
Railways with a track gauge between 500 mm (19+3⁄4 in) and 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge.
Standard gauge: 1,435 mm / 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in edit
| Gauge | Country or Region | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | Imperial | ||
| 1,432 mm | 4 ft 8+3⁄8 in | Hong Kong | Disneyland Resort line, Island line (excluding West Island line), Kwun Tong line (excluding Kwun Tong line extension), Tseung Kwan O line, Tsuen Wan line, Tung Chung line[36] |
| Bucharest | Bucharest Metro | ||
| 1,435 mm | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in | See Category:Standard gauge railways | Standard gauge is defined both in metric and in imperial units. It is also the best-known gauge worldwide; 55% of the world uses this track. In 2020, China’s rail network is standard gauge, with around 79,685 km (49,514 mi) of line.[37] |
| 1,440 mm | 4 ft 8+11⁄16 in | Switzerland | St. Moritz–Corviglia funicular (upper section of 1,616 metres or 5,302 feet route-length only - lower section is 1,200 mm (3 ft 11+1⁄4 in) gauge) |
Broad gauge edit
| Gauge | Country or Region | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | Imperial | ||
| 1,445 mm | 4 ft 8+7⁄8 in | Italy | Tramway networks in Milan, Turin and Rome; Orvieto Funicular; railway network until 1930. |
| Spain | Madrid Metro | ||
| 1,448 mm | 4 ft 9 in | England | Manchester and Leeds Railway |
| United States | Danville, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad, Strasburg Rail Road (converted to standard gauge).[citation needed] | ||
| 1,450 mm | 4 ft 9+3⁄32 in | Germany | Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG, Trams in Dresden |
| 1,458 mm | 4 ft 9+13⁄32 in | Germany | Trams in Leipzig |
| 1,473 mm | 4 ft 10 in | United States | The Midwest, until after the Civil War (Ohio gauge) |
| 1,492 mm | 4 ft 10+3⁄4 in | Canada | Toronto Suburban Railway[38] from 1891–1917. 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) until the end at 1931 |
| 1,495 mm | 4 ft 10+7⁄8 in | Canada | Toronto gauge: Halton County Radial Railway, Toronto streetcar system, and Toronto subway (Lines 1, 2, and 4)[38] |
| 1,520 mm | 4 ft 11+27⁄32 in | Former USSR | Also named Russian gauge. See 5 ft and 1520 mm gauge railways & Confederate railroads in the American Civil War |
| 1,522 mm | 4 ft 11+29⁄32 in | Finland | Helsinki Metro[39] |
| 1,524 mm | 5 ft | Finland | In 1862 the first railway connection in Grand Duchy of Finland were built with five foot railway gauge,[40] however that gauge was first introduced in United Kingdom.[41] |
| 1,537 mm | 5 ft 1⁄2 in | England | London and Blackwall Railway 1840–1849, converted to standard gauge |
| 1,575 mm | 5 ft 2 in | Spain | Ferrocarril de Langreo |
| United States | Columbus Ohio streetcar[42] | ||
| 1,581 mm | 5 ft 2+1⁄4 in | United States | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA),[43] Philadelphia |
| 1,588 mm | 5 ft 2+1⁄2 in | United States | Pennsylvania trolley gauge[43] |
| 1,600 mm | 5 ft 3 in | Germany | Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway 1840-1854, converted to standard gauge |
| Ireland | See 5 ft 3 in gauge railways | ||
| Australia | States of Victoria and South Australia | ||
| 1,613 mm | 5 ft 3+1⁄2 in | United States | Sacramento Valley Railroad (1852–77) |
| 1,620 mm | 5 ft 4 in | South Korea | U Line |
| 1,638 mm | 5 ft 4+1⁄2 in | United States | Baltimore, Baltimore Streetcar System (defunct)[44] and Baltimore Streetcar Museum (operating) |
| 1,664 mm | 5 ft 5+1⁄2 in | Portugal | 5 Portuguese feet Converted to 1,668 mm from 1955[45] |
| 1,668 mm | 5 ft 5+21⁄32 in | See Iberian gauge | |
| 1,672 mm | 5 ft 5+13⁄16 in | Spain | 6 Castilian feet Spanish national rail network Converted to 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge from 1955;[45] The current Barcelona metro line 1 and Cercanías Málaga. |
| 1,676 mm | 5 ft 6 in | India | See 5 ft 6 in gauge railway |
| United States | Bay Area Rapid Transit (excluding eBART and OAK Airport line); Some lines in New England were built to this gauge including Androscoggin (until 1861), Maine Central (until 1871), Vermont Central (until 1870s), Grand Trunk (until 1877), Buckfield Branch / Portland & Oxford Central (until 1878), European & North American (until 1877), and Bangor & Piscataquis (until 1877). | ||
| 1,700 mm | 5 ft 7 in [citation needed] | South Korea | Busan Metro Line 4, Sillim Line |
| 1,727 mm | 5 ft 8 in | England | Babbacombe Cliff Railway and Fisherman's Walk Cliff Railway |
| 1,750 mm[46] | 5 ft 8+7⁄8 in | France | Ligne de Sceaux Paris to Limours via Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, until 1891 |
| 1,800 mm | 5 ft 10+7⁄8 in | Germany | Oberweißbacher Bergbahn (funicular section only)[47][48] |
| United States | Hogwarts Express (located in Universal Orlando Resort) | ||
| 1,829 mm | 6 ft | India | In the 19th century, engineers considered this gauge but finally settled on 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) |
| Russia | Saint Petersburg - Tsarskoe Selo Railways, 1837–1897. | ||
| United States | Albany and Susquehanna Railroad, Erie Railroad until June 22, 1880, Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad March–May 1876, Predominant gauge used by railroads along southern tier of New York State that connected to the pioneering Erie Railroad. Most lines converted to standard gauge 1876-1880, along with the Erie. | ||
| 1,850 mm | 6 ft 27⁄32 in | Canada | Falls Incline Railway[49] in the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario |
| 1,880 mm | 6 ft 2 in | Ireland | Ulster Railway, 1839–1846, re-gauged to 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) |
| Taiwan | Taipei Metro medium-capacity rubber-tired trains (with 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) rails) | ||
| Japan | SCMaglev train depots for Chuo Shinkansen. | ||
| 1,945 mm | 6 ft 4+9⁄16 in | Netherlands | Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij, 1839–1866[44] |
| 1,980 mm / 1,981 mm | 6 ft 6 in | Israel | Haifa, Carmelit subway railway line - Funicular |
| England | North Cliff Lift, Scarborough | ||
| 2,000 mm | 6 ft 6+3⁄4 in | Scotland | Cairngorm Mountain Railway - Funicular |
| 2,134 mm | 7 ft | England | Original definition of Brunel's broad gauge. This rail gauge was soon changed to 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm)[50] to ease running in curves. |
| 2,140 mm | 7 ft 1⁄4 in | South Africa | East London and Table Bay harbour railways |
| England | Brunel's Great Western Railway until converted to standard gauge by May 1892, see Great Western Railway The "gauge war". Also, harbour railways at the Isle of Portland and Brixham | ||
| Isle of Man | Port Erin Breakwater Railway | ||
| Portugal (Azores) | Ponta Delgada and Horta harbour (using rolling stock from Holyhead harbour) | ||
| Wales | Holyhead harbour railway | ||
| 2,286 mm | 7 ft 6 in | England | St Nicholas Cliff Lift, Scarborough |
| 2,440 mm | 8 ft | United States | Johnstown Inclined Plane, Johnstown, Pennsylvania |
| 2,642 mm | 8 ft 8 in | China | Guangzhou Metro APM Line (uses the Bombardier Innovia APM 100) |
| 2,743 mm | 9 ft | Japan | Lake Biwa Canal, an inclined plane near Kyoto |
| United States | Knoxville Incline, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | ||
| 3,000 mm | 9 ft 10+1⁄8 in | Nazi Germany | See Breitspurbahn |
| 3,048 mm | 10 ft | United States | Fort Pitt Incline, Penn Incline, Monongahela Freight Incline and Castle Shannon Incline, Pittsburgh[51] |
| 3,327 mm | 10 ft 11 in | Scotland | Dalzell Iron and Steel Works, Motherwell, Lanarkshire.[52] |
| 5,486 mm | 18 ft | England | Magnus Volk's Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway[53] |
| 8,200 mm | 26 ft 10+27⁄32 in | Austria | Lärchwandschrägaufzug[54] |
| 9,000 mm | 29 ft 6+5⁄16 in | Russia | Krasnoyarsk ship lift[55] |
See also edit
References edit
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- ^ "DSM Andere - Algemene Informatie Materieel". Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ a b Nicholson, Peter (1975). Industrial Narrow Gauge Railways in Britain. Bradford, Barton. ISBN 0-85153-236-5.
- ^ a b Industrial Locomotives 1979: including preserved and minor railway locomotives. Industrial Railway Society. 1979. ISBN 0-901096-38-5.
- ^ Track gauge by size From Czech wiki
- ^ "Littlethorpe Potteries website article on pot making". Archived from the original on 2009-03-25.
- ^ "DGEG - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Eisenbahngeschichte - Spurweiten 500 bis 599 mm - Eisenbahn Eisenbahngeschichte Eisenbahnhistorie Museen Eisenbahnmuseum Eisenbahn-Geschichte Zeitschrift". Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Bahn-Express - Magazin für Werkbahnfreunde". Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Fahrzeugliste". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Ruhrthaler Feldbahnloks". Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "A short history of a truly unique train". www.postojnska-jama.eu. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
The work on laying tracks, which were 1,534 metres in length and had a track gauge of 620 mm, started in March 1872
- ^ "Bahn-Express - Magazin für Werkbahnfreunde". Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ a b "Swedish narrow gauge - Mjk Trefoten". Archived from the original on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "List of 2 ft gauge railways worldwide". Archived from the original on May 9, 2007.
- ^ "Twoja Kruszwica: Kruszwicka Kolejka Dojazdowa - "wojenna" linia Cukrowni Kruszwica. - Portal Historii i Współczesności Kruszwicy". Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "1974 Aidan Fuller Memorial Trophy Photographic Competition Entry". The Industrial Railway Record. 60. Industrial Railway Society: 49. 1975.
- ^ Dart, Maurice (2005). Cornwall Narrow Gauge including the Camborne & Redruth tramway. Middleton Press. ISBN 1-904474-56-X.
- ^ "Le chemin de fer des Mines de la S.A. Minière et Métallurgique de Rodange (MMR)". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ Neil Robinson: World Rail Atlas and Historical Summary 7. North, East and Central Africa. 2009.
- ^ "Industrial Railways: Baganall 0-6-0ST Works No 1911 Baganall 0-6-0ST Works No 1911 'Stafford' is seen at Jee's Hartshill Granite quarry". Warwickshire Railways. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ a b Mitchell, Vic & Smith, Keith (2004). Hampshire Narrow Gauge including the Isle of Wight. Middleton Press. ISBN 1-904474-36-5.
- ^ Die „Kreidebahn“ zwischen Itzehoe und Lägerdorf Archived 2014-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Industrial Narrow Gauge Railways in England Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Barchewitz, Ekkehard. "Feldbahn - Bayerisches Moor-und Torfmuseum Rottau :: Industriedenkmal, Museum, Feldbahn und wundervolle Natur". Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ Bryant, R.S., ed. (1987). Industrial Locomotives, including preserved and minor railway locomotives. Industrial Railway Society. ISBN 0-901096-55-5.
- ^ "Lift-World :: Liftdatenbank : 180-FUC Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2". Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Filipstads Gille". Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ Marc Clarysse. De lijn Antwerpen-Gent (in Dutch).
- ^ Annuaire spécial des chemins de fer belges (in French). Vol. 1. 1867. p. 216.
- ^ Ligne 59 (Anvers) Y Est Berchem - Saint-Nicolas – Gand Dampoort
- ^ Joint Documents of the State of Michigan for the Year 1893. Vol. 4. Lansing, MI: Robert Smith & Company. 1893. p. 445.
- ^ "Narrow Gauge Railway Museum article on Belvoir Castle Tramway". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Morrison, Allen (1989). The Tramways of Brazil: A 130-Year Survey. New York: Bonde Press. pp. 134–138. ISBN 0-9622348-1-8. Archived from the original on 2009-03-03.
- ^ Morrison, Allen (November 1, 2010). "The Tramways of Latin America in 2010". Archived 2010-11-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2010-11-09.
- ^ Hughes, Stephen (1 January 1990). The Archaeology of an Early Railway System: The Brecon Forest Tramroads. Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales. ISBN 9781871184051. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ "香港鐵路(MTR)". Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "China unveils 400km/h gauge-changeable train". Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Old Time Trains". Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Metro tracks and depot". Kaupunkiliikenne Oy. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ "Historic reference". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Waggonway & Railway". Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ Campbell, Alex (2007). "Track Gauge". Archived from the original on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- ^ a b Hilton, George Woodman; Due, John Fitzgerald (1 January 2000). The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804740142. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Railroad Gauge Width". Паровоз ИС. Российский железнодорожный портал. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
- ^ a b "Sistemas automáticos de cambio de ancho de vía en España" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 19, 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Écartement des rails". fr.wikipedia (in French). 2007-11-13. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
- ^ Rieger, Bernhard (2006-04-23). "Oberweißbacher Bergbahn". Archived from the original on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
- ^ "Lift-World :: Lift-Database : 100-FUC Oberweißbacher Bergbahn". Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "History of the Incline Railway". Archived from the original on 20 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ MacDermot, E.T. (1927). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. I: 1833–1863. Paddington: Great Western Railway. p. 49.
In laying the rails an extra quarter of an inch was allowed on the straight, making the gauge 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm), strictly speaking, but it was always referred to as 7 feet.
- ^ "The Inclined Planes". The Street Railway Journal Souvenir: 38–40. October 1891. Archived from the original on 2016-04-05.
- ^ Jones, Robin. Britain's Weirdest Railways. Horncastle: Morton's Media Ltd. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-906167-25-7.
- ^ "Volk's Electric Sea Railway, Daddy Long Legs, The Brighton to Rottingdean Seashore Electric railway, Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK". Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ ""Lärchwandschrägaufzug" will be more modern, safer and faster - Leitner Ropeways". Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ Boat lift Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power station on the Yen Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine
External links edit
- Jane's World Railways
- "Railroad Gauge Width". Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. site
- The Indian Railways FAQ: Gauges
- Extensive list of 2 ft gauge railways worldwide
This article includes a technology-related list of lists.
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