| Rail gauge |
|---|
| Broad gauge |
| Standard gauge |
| Scotch gauge |
| Narrow gauge |
| Minimum gauge |
| List of rail gauges |
| Dual gauge |
| Gauge conversion |
| Break-of-gauge |
| Rail tracks |
| Tramway track |
| [edit] |
Broad gauge railways use a rail gauge (distance between the rails) greater than the standard gauge of 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm). Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge. Scotch gauge was the name given to a Rail gauge, the distance between the inner sides of the rails that was adopted by early 19th century railways mainly in the Lanarkshire A narrow gauge railway (or narrow gauge railroad) is a Railway that has a Track gauge narrower than the of Standard gauge railways Minimum Gauge Railways have a gauge of less than or, most commonly,, or. Named gauges Broad gauge railways by gauge and country Standard gauge railways, by country This is the Standard or international Dual-gauge or mixed-gauge Railway is a special configuration of railway track, allowing trains of different gauges to use the same track With railways a break-of-gauge is where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge Tramway track is used on tramways or Light rail operations Grooved rails (or girder rails are often used in order to make street running feasible "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge.
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List
For a list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country
Details
In Britain the Great Western Railway, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, pioneered broad gauge from 1838 with a gauge of 7 ft 0¼ in (2,140 mm), and retained this gauge until 1892. The Great Western Railway ( GWR) was a British railway company and a notable example of Civil engineering, linking London with the West Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 &ndash 15 September 1859 (ˈɪzəmbɑrd ˈkɪŋdəm brʊˈnɛl was a British Engineer. Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year A number of harbours also used railways of this gauge for construction and maintenance. These included Portland Harbour and Holyhead Breakwater, which sold a locomotive into industrial hands for working nearby sidings. Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. Holyhead ( IPA /ˈhɒlihɛd/ Welsh: Caergybi, "the fort of Saint Cybi " is the largest town in the county of As it was not connected to the national network, this broad gauge operation continued until 1913 when the locomotive wore out[1].
While Parliament was initially prepared to authorise lines built to the broad gauge, it was eventually rejected by the Gauge Commission in favour of all railways being built to Standard Gauge for compatibility. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories Broad gauge lines were gradually converted to dual gauge or standard gauge from 1864, and finally the last of Brunel's broad gauge was converted in 1892. Year 1864 ( MDCCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year
Many countries have broad gauge railways. Ireland (see History of rail transport in Ireland) and some parts of Australia and Brazil have a gauge of 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) (but Luas, the Dublin light rail system, is built to standard gauge). Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world This article is part of the History of rail transport by country series The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Luas /ɫ̪uəsˠ/ ( Irish for 'speed' also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System, is a Light rail or Tram Russia and the other former Soviet Republics use a 1,520 mm (4 ft 11⅞ in) (originally 5 ft (1,524 mm)) gauge while Finland continues to use the 5 ft (1,524 mm)) gauge inherited from Imperial Russia (the two standards are close enough to allow full interoperability between Finland and Russia). Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Republics of the Soviet Union were according to the Article 76 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution, Sovereign Soviet Socialist states that had united with other Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya
In 1839, the Netherlands started its railway system with two broad gauge railways. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The chosen gauge was 1,945 mm (6 ft 5 in) after a visit of engineers in England. This was applied between 1839–1866 by the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM) for their Amsterdam-The Hague-Rotterdam line and between 1842–1855, firstly by the Dutch state, but soon by the Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij for their Amsterdam-Utrecht-Arnhem line. The Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij or HSM ( Hollands Iron Railway-Company) was the first Railway company in the Netherlands founded But the neighboring countries Prussia and Belgium used already standard gauge so the two companies had to regauge their first lines. In 1855, NRS regauged its line and shortly after connected to the Prussian railways. The HSM followed in 1866. There are replicas of one broad gauge 2-2-2 locomotive (De Arend) and three carriages in the Dutch Railway Museum in Utrecht. The Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum (literally Dutch Railway Museum) is the Dutch national Railway Museum. These replicas were built for the 100th anniversary of the Dutch Railways in 1938–39.
The Baltic states have received funding from the European Union to build new lines with standard gauge. The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge. Portugal and the Spanish Renfe system use a gauge of 5 ft 5½ in (1,668 mm) called "Ancho Ibérico" (see Rail gauge). Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Renfe Operadora is the State-owned company which operates freight and passenger Trains on the 1668-mm " Iberian gauge " and 1435-mm " Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. In India a gauge of 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) is widespread. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country This is also used by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system of the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Bay, is a geographically and ethnically diverse metropolitan region that surrounds the In Toronto, Canada the gauge for TTC subways and streetcars was chosen in 1861, years after the establishment of 'standard gauge' in Britain, but well before 'standard gauge' in the US and Canada. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Toronto Transit Commission ( TTC) is a Public transport authority that operates Buses streetcars, subways and Rapid transit Toronto uses a unique gauge of 4 ft 10⅞ in (1,495 mm), an "overgauge" originally stated to 'allow horse-drawn wagons to use the rails', but with the practical effect of precluding the use of standard gauge equipment in the street. In 1861, the Province was supplying subsidies only to broad 'provincial gauge' railways.
The value of interoperability was not obvious to the industry at first. The standardization movement was gradual, and over time the value of a proprietary gauge diminished, being replaced by the idea of collecting money for equipment used on somebody else's railroad lines.
Most non-standard broad gauges get in the way of interoperability of railway networks. On the GWR, the 7 ft 0¼ in (2,140 mm) gauge was supposed to allow for high speed, but the company had difficulty with locomotive design in the early years (which threw away much of their advantage), and rapid advances in permanent way and suspension technology saw standard gauge speeds approach broad gauge speeds within a decade or two in any case. The permanent way means the physical elements of the railway line itself generally the pairs of rails typically laid on sleepers embedded in ballast intended to carry the ordinary On the 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) and 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauges, the extra width allowed for bigger inside cylinders and greater power, a problem solvable by outside cylinders and higher steam pressure on standard gauge. On BART, the wider gauge is supposed to prevent lightweight trains from being blown over by the wind.
The British Raj in India adopted 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge, although some standard gauge railways were built in the initial period. For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British The standard gauge railways were soon converted to broad gauge. Reputedly, broad gauge was thought necessary to keep trains stable in the face of strong monsoon winds. A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months Attempts to economise on the cost of construction lead to the adoption of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3⅜ in) gauge and then 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) and 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauges for many secondary and feeder lines. A narrow gauge railway (or narrow gauge railroad) is a Railway that has a Track gauge narrower than the of Standard gauge railways
However broad gauge remained the most prevalent gauge across the Indian subcontinent, reaching right across from Iran to Burma and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. This article is about the geographical region of greater Kashmir Tamil Nadu ( Tamil:, Country of the Tamils, t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ is one of the 28 states of India. After Independence, the Indian Railways adopted 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) as the standard Indian Gauge, and began Project Unigauge to convert metre gauge and narrow gauge to broad gauge. Independence is the Self-government of a Nation, Country, or State by its residents and population or some portion thereof generally exercising Indian Railways (भारतीय रेल Bhāratīya Rail) abbreviated as IR (hi भारे is a Department of the Government of India under the Ministry Project Unigauge is an ongoing exercise of the Indian Railways to standardise most of the Rail gauge in India towards a single 1676 mm (5 ft 6 in Even the newest rail projects in India, such as the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro use broad gauge. The Konkan Railway (Railway SymbolKR is a company of the Indian Railways which operates along the Konkan coast of India. The Delhi Mass Rapid Transit System ( MRTS) or Delhi Metro (दिल्ली मेट्रो is a Rapid transit system in the Indian National There was a move to use standard gauge for the Delhi Metro, but the decision was made to use broad gauge to maintain compatibility with the rest of the rail network in India. The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge. The new Bangalore Metro Lines will be on standard gauge and similarly Mumbai & Hyderabad Metro will also be on standard gauge. The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge. The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge.
In the early days of rail transport in the United States, railroads tended to be built out of coastal cities into the hinterland, and systems did not connect. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The hinterland is the land or district behind the borders of a coast or river Each builder was free to choose its own gauge, although the availability of British-built locomotives encouraged some railroads to be built to standard gauge. As a general rule, southern railroads were built to one or another broad gauge, while northern railroads that were not standard-gauge tended to be narrow-gauge. When American railroads' track extended to the point that they began to interconnect, it became clear that a single nationwide gauge would be a good idea. Conversion was slow until after the American Civil War, when destroyed tracks were rebuilt to standard gauge. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Now, the only broad-gauge rail systems in the United States are city transit systems.
Russian Broad Gauge
See also: Russia
Although it is a popular myth that Russian gauge was selected wider to prevent railroad invasion, this is not true. Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. Russian gauge of 5 ft (1,524 mm) was approved as the new standard on September 12, 1842. Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Year 1842 ( MDCCCXLII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The selection process was done chiefly by Colonel Pavel Petrovich Melnikov (1804-1880). Pavel Petrovich Melnikov ( Russian: Павел Петрович Мельников - in Lyuban) was a Russian engineer and administrator who in Probably, a combination of the following arguments was used:
- Easier construction of locomotives
- Better stability
- Wide gauge was seen as a new standard that was emerging in the United States
- Since the gauge was wider than standard road track it was easier to use horse carriages for railroad construction and maintenance. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
George Washington Whistler was invited as a foreign expert to assist in railroad construction. George Washington Whistler ( Fort Wayne Indiana, May 19, 1800 &ndash April 7, 1849 in Saint Petersburg, Russia He was a proponent of a wider gauge and his efforts helped in lobbying the new standard. It is quite likely that an "invasion" argument (alleging that it is easier to adapt trains to narrow gauge than to broad gauge) was used in lobbying the project since military was closely supervising the construction; however, it is highly unlikely that such an argument was made by Melnikov during the actual selection process. Nazi Germany suffered such problems with their supply lines during World War II as a result of the break-of-gauge. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Military supply chain management is a cross-functional approach to procuring, producing and delivering products and services The broad The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign With railways a break-of-gauge is where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge
Although broad gauge was and is quite rare on lighter railways and street tramways, many tramways in ex-USSR were and are also built to broad gauge (according to terminology in use in these countries, gauges narrower than 1,520 mm (4 ft 11⅞ in) are considered to be narrow). For specific light rail systems many of which use the words "light rail" as part of their name see List of light-rail transit systems. A tram, tramcar, trolley, trolley car, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a Train The former Soviet Union is today the largest operator of first generation tramways in the world, and has been for many years. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The modern world's largest tramway network, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is entirely broad gauge, with some of the world's widest trams, and indeed the widest in Europe (European trams are generally narrower than European buses and trains and also tramcars elsewhere such as America and Australia). Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.
Overcoming a break of gauge
Where trains encounter a different gauge (a break of gauge), such as at the Spanish-French border or the Russian-Chinese one, the traditional solution has always been transshipment — transferring passengers and freight to cars on the other system. With railways a break-of-gauge is where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge Transshipment or Transhipment is the Shipment of goods to an intermediate destination and then from there to yet another destination This is obviously far from optimal, and a number of more efficient schemes have been devised. One common one is to build cars to the smaller of the two systems' loading gauges with bogies that are easily removed and replaced, with a bogie exchange at an interchange location on the border. A loading gauge is the envelope or contoured shape within which all Railroad cars, Locomotives coaches Buses Trucks and other A bogie (ˈboʊgi (BŌ-gē is a Wheeled wagon or trolley In mechanics terms a bogie is a Chassis or framework carrying wheels attached to a vehicle Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the Rail gauge. This takes a few minutes per car, but is quicker than transshipment. A more modern and sophisticated method is to have multigauge bogies whose wheels can be moved inward and outward. Variable gauge axles (VGA are Axles that allow railway vehicles to pass from tracks of one Rail gauge to a different gauge Normally they are locked in place, but special equipment at the border unlocks the wheels and pushes them inward or outward to the new gauge, relocking the wheels when done. This can be done as the train moves slowly over special equipment.
When transhipping from one gauge to another, chances are that the quantity of rolling stock on each gauge is unbalanced, leading to more idle rolling stock on one gauge than other.
In some cases, breaks of gauge are avoided by installing dual gauge track, either permanently or as part of a changeover process to a single gauge. Dual-gauge or mixed-gauge Railway is a special configuration of railway track, allowing trains of different gauges to use the same track In other cases (in Spain) variable gauge axles are used. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Variable gauge axles (VGA are Axles that allow railway vehicles to pass from tracks of one Rail gauge to a different gauge
Dual gauge
If the broad gauge is significantly wider than standard gauge, dual gauge is possible with 3 rail Dual gauge. Dual-gauge or mixed-gauge Railway is a special configuration of railway track, allowing trains of different gauges to use the same track If the broad gauge is only slightly wider than standard gauge, then dual gauge needs 4 rails.
Broader gauges
Some applications that require broader gauges, including:
- Telescopes
- Rocket launchers - The USSR and US use double-track railroad to move rockets and supporting equipment at launch sites. A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects and the collection of Electromagnetic radiation. A launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecrafts liftoff [1] (The US Apollo program used caterpillar tracks on a gravel roadbed because other solutions could not support the loads required). Continuous tracks are large (modular tracks used on the so-called caterpillar Tanks construction equipment and certain other off-road vehicles
- Dockside cranes for unloading cargo from ships and for constructing ships
- Ship railways
These applications might use double track of the country's usual gauge to provide the necessary stability and axle load. A crane is a lifting machine equipped with a Winder, Wire ropes or Chains and sheaves that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to A Portage railway is a short and possibly isolated section of Railway used to bypass a section of unnavigable river or between two water bodies which are These applications may also use much heavier than normal rails, the heaviest rails for actual trains being about 70 kg/m.
See also
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- Category:Broad gauge (7 feet) railway companies
- Category:Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives
External links
- Railroad Gauge Width
- Jane's World Railways (hard copy)
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