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Broad gauge railways use a rail gauge (distance between the rails) greater than the standard gauge of 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm). Look up Gauge in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The dominant rail gauge in each country shown Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... Scotch gauge was the name given to a 4 ft 6 in (1371 mm) rail gauge, the distance between the inner sides of the rails, that was adopted by early 19th century railways in the Lanarkshire area of Scotland. ... A narrow gauge railway (or narrow gauge railroad) is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) of standard gauge railways. ... Minimum Gauge Railways are narrow gauge railways that run on extremely narrow gauged rail tracks, below 2 ft (610 mm). ... // This is the Standard or international gauge Medium gauge railways are narrow gauge railways of approximately 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge and above. ... Sunlight reflects off dual-gauge tracks near Chur, Switzerland Mixed-gauge track and pointwork (4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) and 3 ft 6 in (1067 mm)) at Odawara in Japan Dual-gauge tram tracks in Katwijk, The Netherlands Dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway is a special configuration of... Gauge conversion is the process of converting a railway from one gauge to another. ... With railways, a break-of-gauge is where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. ... Rail tracks. ... Light rail tracks with concrete railroad ties. ... This is the top-level page of WikiProject trains Rail tracks Rail transport refers to the land transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. ... The dominant rail gauge in each country shown Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ...

List

For a list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country // This is the Standard or international gauge Medium gauge railways are narrow gauge railways of approximately 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge and above. ...

Details

Great Western Railway broad gauge steam locomotives awaiting scrapping in 1892 after the conversion to standard gauge.

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. 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. As it was not connected to the national network, this broad gauge operation continued until 1913 when the locomotive wore out[1]. Great Western Railway broad gauge steam locomotives awaiting scrapping after the broad gauge was abolished in 1892. ... Great Western Railway broad gauge steam locomotives awaiting scrapping after the broad gauge was abolished in 1892. ... The original Bristol Temple Meads station, first terminus of the GWR, is the building to the left of this picture The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. ... One of the last mainline steam locomotives built in the UK: British Railways Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 no. ... Year 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... The original Bristol Temple Meads station, first terminus of the GWR, is the building to the left of this picture The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. ... Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) (IPA: ), was a British engineer. ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Two RIBs at Castletown, Portland Harbour Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. ... Holyhead (Welsh: Caergybi, the fort of St. ...

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. 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. Type Bicameral Houses House of Commons House of Lords Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin MP Speaker of the House of Lords Hélène Hayman, PC Members 1377 (646 Commons, 731 Peers) Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Year 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

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). 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). 1906 Viceregal Commission rail map of Ireland Irelands extensive rail network was largely dismantled during the 20th Century Map of Irish rail network between 1925 and 1930 This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series The history of rail transport in Ireland began only... Luas [l̪ˠuː(É™)s̪ˠ] (Irish for speed), also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System, currently encompasses two unconnected on-street light rail lines in Dublin, Ireland. ... This article is about the constituent republics of the Soviet Union. ... The subject of this article was previously also known as Russia. ...

Irish broad gauge tracks

In 1839, the Netherlands started its railway system with two broad gauge railways. 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. 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. These replicas were built for the 100th anniversary of the Dutch Railways in 1938–39. Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1851 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1851 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Former headquarters of the HSM, build across the street from their main station in Amsterdam. ... The Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum (literally, Dutch Railway Museum) is the Dutch national railway museum. ...

The Baltic states have received funding from the European Union to build new lines with standard gauge. Portugal and the Spanish Renfe system use a gauge of 5 ft 5½ in (1,668 mm) called "Ancho Ibérico" (see Rail gauge). In India a gauge of 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) is widespread. This is also used by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system of the San Francisco Bay Area. 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 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 three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... Map of the Spanish rail network as it was in 2005, with colour-coded track types A new Cercanías Civia unit near Puerto Real (Cádiz) AVE Class 100 train at Cordoba station Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668... The dominant rail gauge in each country shown Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. ... A westbound BART train with aerodynamic design A car in downtown San Francisco. ... Bay Area redirects here. ... The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is a public transport authority that operates buses, streetcars, subways, and rapid transit lines in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

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. 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.^{[citation needed]} The permanent way refers to the rails and sleepers of a railway line. ... A westbound BART train with aerodynamic design A car in downtown San Francisco. ...

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. 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. 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. Anthem God Save The King-Emperor The British Indian Empire, 1909 Capital Calcutta (1858 - 1912) New Delhi (1912 - 1947) Language(s) Hindustani, English and many others Government Monarchy Emperor of India  - 1858-1901 Victoria¹  - 1901-1910 Edward VII  - 1910-1936 George V  - 1936 Edward VIII  - 1936-1947 George VI Viceroy... For other uses, see Monsoon (disambiguation). ... Narrow-gauge railways are railroads (railways) with track spaced at less than the standard gauge of 4 ft 8½ in (1. ...

However broad gauge remained the most prevalent gauge across the Indian Subcontinent, reaching right across from Iran in to Pakistan to Burma and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu. After Independence, the Pakistan Railways and 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. Even the newest rail projects in India, such as the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro use broad gauge. 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 new Bangalore Metro Lines will be on standard gauge and similarly Mumbai & Hyderabad Metro will also be on standard gauge. Few remaining standard gauge sections in Pakistan are being converted to broad gauge. Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ... Kashmir (or Cashmere) may refer to: Kashmir region, the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent India, Kashmir conflict, the territorial dispute between India, Pakistan, and the China over the Kashmir region. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway company of Pakistan. ... Indian Railways (Hindi भारतीय रेल), abbreviated as (Hindi भारे ) IR, is a Department of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Railways, and is tasked with operating the rail network in India. ... The Konkan Railway (Railway Symbol:KR) is a company of the Indian Railways which operates along the Konkan coast of India. ... The Delhi Metro is the metro system of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ...

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. 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. Now, the only broad-gauge rail systems in the United States are city transit systems. The meaning of hinterland and its history. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...

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. Russian gauge of 5 ft (1,524 mm) was approved as the new standard on September 12, 1842. The selection process was done chiefly by Colonel Pavel Petrovich Melnikov (1804-1880). Probably, a combination of the following arguments was used: is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Not to be confused with Pavel Ivanovich Melnikov. ...

• 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.

George Washington Whistler was invited as a foreign expert to assist in railroad construction. 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. George Washington Whistler was a prominent American railroad engineer in the first half of the 19th century. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Supply lines are roads, rail, and other transportation infrastructure needed to replenish the consumables that a military unit requires to function in the field. ... Combatants Soviet Union,[1] Poland, Tannu Tuva (until 1944 incorporation with USSR), Mongolia Germany,[2] Italy (to 1943), Romania (to 1944), Finland (to 1944), Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Spain (to 1943, unofficial) Commanders Joseph Stalin, Aleksei Antonov, Ivan Konev, Rodion Malinovsky, Ivan Bagramyan, Kirill Meretskov, Ivan Petrov, Alexander Rodimtsev, Konstantin Rokossovsky... 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). The former Soviet Union is today the largest operator of first generation tramways in the world, and has been for many years. 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). This article is about light rail systems in general. ... This article refers to public transport vehicles running on rails. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... The Americas (sometimes referred to as America) is the area including the land mass located between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, generally divided into North America and South America. ...

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. 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. 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. 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. With railways, a break-of-gauge is where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. ... Transshipment is the shipment of goods to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination. ... The size of tunnels dictates the maximum size of the trains. ... A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. ... Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the rail gauge. ... Variable gauge axles are used to allow railway vehicles to pass from one train operators rail gauge to another different gauge. ...

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. In other cases (in Spain) variable gauge axles are used. Sunlight reflects off dual-gauge tracks near Chur, Switzerland Mixed-gauge track and pointwork (4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) and 3 ft 6 in (1067 mm)) at Odawara in Japan Dual-gauge tram tracks in Katwijk, The Netherlands Dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway is a special configuration of... Variable gauge axles are used to allow railway vehicles to pass from one train operators rail gauge to another different gauge. ...

Dual gauge

If the broad gauge is significantly wider than standard gauge, dual gauge is possible with 3 rail Dual gauge. If the broad gauge is only slightly wider than standard gauge, then dual gauge needs 4 rails. Sunlight reflects off dual-gauge tracks near Chur, Switzerland Mixed-gauge track and pointwork (4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) and 3 ft 6 in (1067 mm)) at Odawara in Japan Dual-gauge tram tracks in Katwijk, The Netherlands Dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway is a special configuration of...

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. ^[1] (The US Apollo program used caterpillar tracks on a gravel roadbed because other solutions could not support the loads required).
• 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. These applications may also use much heavier than normal rails, the heaviest rails for actual trains being about 70 kg/m. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The launch pad refers to the facilities where rockets or spacecrafts liftoff. ... The Apollo program was a human spaceflight program undertaken by NASA during the years 1961 – 1975 with the goal of conducting manned moon landing missions. ... A modern crawler type derrick crane with outriggers. ... 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 not directly connected. ...

See also

• Category:Broad gauge (7 feet) railway companies
• Category:Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives

The Breitspurbahn was a wide-track railroad planned by Adolf Hitler during his rulership of Germany. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... Narrow-gauge railways are railroads (railways) with track spaced at less than the standard gauge of 4 ft 8½ in (1. ... The dominant rail gauge in each country shown Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. ... // This is the Standard or international gauge Medium gauge railways are narrow gauge railways of approximately 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge and above. ... Variable gauge axles are used to allow railway vehicles to pass from one train operators rail gauge to another different gauge. ... The Ramsey Car Transfer Apparatus (Ramsey Transfer) was a device which permitted railroad cars to operate over different gauges of track by transferring railroad trucks on the cars. ... A railroad switch is a mechanical installation enabling trains to be guided from one set of rail tracks (or tramway tracks) to another. ... Wide Gauge was an early model railway and toy train standard, introduced in the United States in 1906 by Lionel Corporation. ... This page provides an index of articles on Rail transport by country. ... Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another. ...

External links

• Railroad Gauge Width
• Jane's World Railways (hard copy)