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Track gauge
By transport mode
By size (list )
Minimum
Minimum
Fifteen inch
381 mm
(15 in)
Narrow
(1 ft 11+ 5 ⁄8 in)
(2 ft)
(2 ft 3 in)
(2 ft 5+ 1 ⁄2 in)
(2 ft 5+ 15 ⁄16 in)
(2 ft 6 in)
891 mm
900 mm
914 mm
950 mm
(2 ft 11+ 3 ⁄32 in)
(2 ft 11+ 7 ⁄16 in)
(3 ft)
(3 ft1+ 13 ⁄32 in)
Metre
1,000 mm
(3 ft 3+ 3 ⁄8 in)
Three foot six inch
1,067 mm
(3 ft 6 in)
Four foot
1,219 mm
(4 ft)
Four foot six inch
1,372 mm
(4 ft 6 in)
1432 mm
1,432 mm
(4 ft 8+ 3 ⁄8 in)
Standard
1,435 mm
(4 ft 8+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Broad
(4 ft 8+ 7 ⁄8 in)
(4 ft 9+ 3 ⁄32 in)
Leipzig gauge
1,458 mm
(4 ft 9+ 13 ⁄32 in)
Toronto gauge
1,495 mm
(4 ft 10+ 7 ⁄8 in)
(4 ft 11+ 27 ⁄32 in)
(5 ft)
1,581 mm
1,588 mm
1,600 mm
(5 ft 2+ 1 ⁄4 in)
(5 ft 2+ 1 ⁄2 in)
(5 ft 3 in)
Baltimore gauge
1,638 mm
(5 ft 4+ 1 ⁄2 in)
(5 ft 5+ 21 ⁄32 in)
(5 ft 6 in)
Six foot
1,829 mm
(6 ft)
Brunel
2,140 mm
(7 ft 1 ⁄4 in)
Breitspurbahn
3,000 mm
(9 ft 101 ⁄8 in)
Change of gauge
By location
4 ft 8 in gauge railways are railways with a track gauge of 4 ft 8 in / 1,422 mm . This gauge is 1 ⁄2 inch (13 mm) less than 4 ft 8+ 1 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm ) standard gauge The first such railways were the Killingworth Railway [2] and the Stockton and Darlington Railway [note 1]
Similar gauges [ edit ]
The Huddersfield Corporation Tramways , 4 ft 7+ 3 ⁄4 in (1,416 mm ), the gauge is 3 ⁄4 inch (19 mm) less than 4 ft 8+ 1 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm )
The Glasgow Corporation Tramways , 4 ft 7+ 3 ⁄4 in (1,416 mm )
The Washington Metro 4 ft 8+ 1 ⁄4 in (1,429 mm ), the gauge is 1 ⁄4 inch (6 mm) less than 4 ft 8+ 1 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm )
The trams in Nuremberg for one time nominally used 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+ 3 ⁄8 in ), the gauge is 1 ⁄8 inch (3 mm) less than 4 ft 8+ 1 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm )
The MTR uses 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+ 3 ⁄8 in ) on most lines.
The Bucharest Metro uses 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+ 3 ⁄8 in )
Railways [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
^ Smiles (1904 , p. 160) states that early tramroads had rails 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm ) apart, but Tomlinson (1915 , pp. 82–83) challenges this, stating that the most common gauge of the early tramroads and waggonways was about 4 ft (1,219 mm ), and some, such as the Wylam waggonway , had the rails 5 ft (1,524 mm ) apart. The gauge of the S&DR was given in early documents as 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm ), but the distance between the rails was later measured as 4 ft 8+ 1 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm ), and this became the standard gauge used by 60 per cent of railways worldwide. The difference of 1 ⁄2 inch (13 mm) is a mystery.[3] [4]
References [ edit ]
^ The Rocket Men, by Robin Jones, p33; Mortons Media Group.
^ Davis, Hunter (1975). George Stephenson: A Biographical Study of the Father of Railways . Weidenfeld and Nicolson. p. 75. ISBN 0-297-76934-0 .
^ "Robert Stephenson (1803–1859)" . Network Rail. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014 .
^ Allen, G. Freeman (December 1959). "Talking of trains: First mineral railway closed". Trains Illustrated . Hampton Court: Ian Allan.
Sources [ edit ]