5 ft 3 in gauge railways

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Track gauge
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Minimum
  Fifteen inch 381 mm (15 in)
Narrow
  600 mm,
Two foot		 597 mm
600 mm
603 mm
610 mm		 (1 ft ​11 1⁄2 in)
(1 ft ​11 5⁄8 in)
(1 ft ​11 3⁄4 in)
(2 ft)
  750 mm,
Bosnian,
Two foot six inch,
800 mm		 750 mm
760 mm
762 mm
800 mm		 (2 ft ​5 1⁄2 in)
(2 ft ​5 15⁄16 in)
(2 ft 6 in)
(2 ft ​7 1⁄2 in)
  Swedish three foot,
900 mm,
Three foot		 891 mm
900 mm
914 mm		 (2 ft​11 3⁄32 in)
(2 ft ​11 7⁄16)
(3 ft)
  Metre 1,000 mm (3 ft ​3 3⁄8 in)
  Three foot six inch,
Cape, CAP, Kyōki		 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
  Four foot six inch 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)
  Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft ​8 1⁄2 in)
Broad
  Russian,
Five foot		 1,520 mm
1,524 mm		 (4 ft ​11 27⁄32 in)
(5 ft)
  Irish 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
  Iberian 1,668 mm (5 ft ​5 21⁄32 in)
  Indian 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
  Six foot 1,829 mm (6 ft)
  Brunel 2,140 mm (7 ft ​1⁄4 in)
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This box:

Railways with track gauge of 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) are broad gauge railways, currently in use in Australia, Brazil and Ireland.

History

600 BCE
The Diolkos (Δίολκος) across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece – a grooved paved trackway – was constructed with an average gauge of 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm).[1]
1840
The Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway was constructed to 5 ft 3 in gauge, converted to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge in 1854–1855.
1843
The Board of Trade of the United Kingdom recommended the use of 5 ft 3 in in Ireland, after investigating a dispute caused by diverse gauges in Ireland.
1846
The Regulating the Gauge of Railways Act 1846 made this gauge mandatory throughout all of Ireland.[2]
1847
The Swiss Northern Railway was opened, converted to standard gauge in 1854.
1854
The first Australian 5 ft 3 in line was opened, the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company.
1858
The first Brazilian 5 ft 3 in railway was opened, the Companhia de Estrada de Ferro Dom Pedro II.
1863
The Canterbury Provincial Railways in New Zealand was built in 5 ft 3 in until gauge conversion to 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) in 1876

Nomenclature

  • In Ireland this gauge is known as Irish gauge.[3][4]
  • In Australia this gauge is known as Victorian Broad Gauge.[5][6]

Installations

Country/territory Railway
Australia <templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Main articles: Rail transport in South Australia and Rail transport in Victoria

States of South Australia, Victoria (Victorian broad gauge), New South Wales (a few lines built by, and connected to, the Victorian rail system) and Tasmania, Australia (one line, Deloraine to Launceston, opened in 1871, partly converted to dual gauge, and then converted to 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) in 1888). The 125 km (77.7 mi) long Oaklands railway line, which runs into New South Wales from Victoria, was converted to standard gauge in 2009. The project was relatively easy because the line has wooden sleepers. 200 km (124.3 mi) of the North East line, Victoria was converted to standard gauge in 2008–2011, meaning a double track standard gauge line was created between Seymour and Albury. The current network is 4,017 km or 2,496 mi, 10% of the total Australian rail network.
Brazil <templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Main article: Rail transport in Brazil

Lines connecting the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais; E.F.Carajás in Pará and Maranhão states, and Ferronorte in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states. Used in older Metro systems. Although metre gauge network is almost 5 times longer,[7] Irish gauge is considered the standard by ABNT [8] The current network is 4,057 km or 2,521 mi, 15% of the total Brazilian network.
Germany Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway 1840–1855[9]
Switzerland Swiss Northern Railway between 1847 and 1854, converted 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge.
Ireland <templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Main article: Rail transport in Ireland

Irish broad gauge. The Downpatrick & Ardglass Railway began public operation, the first Irish gauge heritage railway in Ireland.[10] The current network is 2,400 km or 1,491 mi.[11]
New Zealand Canterbury Provincial Railways
(1863- ; All routes gauge converted to 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) by 1876)
United Kingdom <templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
See also: Rail transport in Ireland

Northern Ireland Railways – entire network, currently 330 km or 205 mi.

Similar gauges

The Pennsylvania trolley gauges of 5 ft 2 1⁄2 in (1,588 mm) and 5 ft 2 1⁄4 in (1,581 mm) are similar to Irish gauge. There is also 5 ft 2 in (1,575 mm) gauge, which is similar as well. See: Track gauge in Ireland.

Locomotives

One of the supposed advantages of the broader 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) Irish gauge, compared to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge, is that the greater space between the wheels allows for bigger cylinders. In practice, Ireland does not have any heavily-loaded or steeply-graded lines that would require especially powerful locomotives. The most powerful steam locomotives on systems of this gauge were:

By comparison a non-articulated standard gauge locomotive in the same country was:


This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Transfer of gauge, a useful railway invention Sunday Times (Perth, WA) Sunday 8 June 1902 Supplement, page 1
  7. ↑ Rail_transport_in_Brazil
  8. ↑ Newer Metro systems use 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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