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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.
Overview※
Most of these lines are tourist lines, which are often heritage railways/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/territory | Railway | Gauge |
---|---|---|
Albania |
Main article: Narrow gauge railways in 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 |
Main article: Two foot gauge railways in Australia
|
2 ft (610 mm) |
Austria |
Main article: Narrow gauge railways in 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 |
Main article: Transport in Brunei
|
2 ft (610 mm) |
Bulgaria |
Main article: Narrow gauge railways in 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 |
Main article: Narrow gauge railways 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 |
Main article: Narrow gauge railways in Denmark
|
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 |
Main article: Rail transport in Fiji
|
2 ft (610 mm) |
Finland |
Main article: Narrow gauge railways in Finland
|
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) |
France |
Main article: Narrow gauge railways in France
|
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) |
Germany |
Main article: 600 mm gauge railways 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 |
|
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 |
Main article: Narrow gauge railways in Latvia
|
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) |
Lithuania |
|
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) |
North Macedonia |
|
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) |
Madagascar |
|
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) |
Mauritius |
|
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) |
Mexico |
|
2 ft (610 mm) |
|
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) | |
Montenegro |
|
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) |
Morocco |
Main article: History of rail transport 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 |
|
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 |
|
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) |
Poland |
Main article: Narrow gauge railways 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 |
Main article: Two-foot-gauge railways 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 |
Main article: Narrow gauge railways 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 |
Main article: 2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways in the 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 |
Main article: 2 ft gauge railroads in the United States
|
2 ft (610 mm) |
Zimbabwe |
|
2 ft (610 mm) |
See also※
References※
- ^ The Very Special Electric Tramway in Valle Hermoso, Argentina
- ^ Railways of the Far South - The Ushuaia prison railway & the FCAF
- ^ World Wide Listing of Two foot, 1' 11 1/2", 600 mm (60cm) & 610mm Railroads (from archive.org) - Argentina
- ^ "Music Express - Walibi Belgium - Pretparken.be". Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ "The Vennbahn: Belgium's railway through Germany". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Niagara Rails - Other Lines". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
- ^ Exploration Place Museum and Science Centre - official website
- ^ "Iconic Port Elgin beach train station demolished". Shoreline Beacon. May 20, 2020.
- ^ Railways of the Far South - Chiloe Island
- ^ World Wide Listing of Two foot, 1' 11 1/2", 600 mm (60cm) & 610mm Railroads (from archive.org) - Java
- ^ "RailScape - Musashino-Mura". Archived from the original on 2014-02-25. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
- ^ Musashino-Mura - official website
- ^ Steamlocomotive.info - Chiba
- ^ Narita Yume Bokujō Railway - official website
- ^ Industrial Heritage in Madagascar, 2012
- ^ Narrow Gauge Railway Relics in Mauritius, 2012
- ^ Preserved Narrow Gauge Steam in Mexico 2012, Part 2
- ^ "Directory of preserved narrow gauge railways in Norway". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
- ^ Changa Manga Forest Railway
- ^ "Severn Lamb - News Archive". Archived from the original on 2011-12-02. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
- ^ "Trams of the World 2017" (PDF). Blickpunkt Straßenbahn. January 24, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
- ^ "Listadotren.es - Funicular de Molinos (Lleida)". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
- ^ "Tren Minero de Utrillas". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
- ^ Funimag - "Die Puschlaver Geisterbahn" Cavaglia
- ^ 610 mm gauge Shurugwi Railway
- ^ Shurugwi Peak Railway, Zimbabwe