2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways

Track gauge

By transport mode
Tram · Rapid transit Miniature · Scale model
By size (list)
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)
Change of gauge
Break-of-gauge · Dual gauge · Conversion (list) · Bogie exchange · Variable gauge
By location
North America · South America · Europe · Australia

A BL 9.2-inch howitzer with shells lined up on the ground recently delivered from the trench railway in the foreground during World War I.

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

The Chemins de Fer du Calvados's Caen station in France.

A steam outline Schöma diesel locomotive on the Pelion railway in Greece.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is one of three Mountain Railways of India designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Groudle Glen Railway Sea Lion locomotive c. 1910 on the Isle of Man.

The Tateyama Sabō Erosion Control Works Service Train in Japan.

Beira Railroad Corporation Class F4 No. 38 in Mozambique.

The gasoline engine Crown Prince of the Otavi Mining and Railway Company in South West Africa (now Namibia). This railcar was able to reach a speed of 137 kilometres (85 mi) per hour.

The Efteling Steam Train Company, located in Efteling in the Netherlands, runs some locomotives that are more than a century old.

Lyd2 locomotive built by 23 August Locomotive Works (FAUR) in Romania.

A Spoornet Class 91-000 on the Avontuur Railway in South Africa.

A locomotive and turntable on the Östra Södermanlands Järnväg in Sweden.

Many of these railways were industrial lines rather than common carriers, though there were exceptions such as the "Maine two footer" lines in New England (some are still operating), the Chicago Tunnel Company's 60-mile (97 km) network under the Chicago Loop, and the Chemins de Fer du Calvados in Normandy. There are also non-industrial railroads utilizing these gauges that are operating in the present day, such as the Festiniog Railway in Wales, the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado, and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in India; but then they rely on tourist traffic and most of them are revived or built by enthusiasts.

Trench railways of World War I produced the greatest concentration of 600 mm (1 ft 11 ⁵⁄₈ in) gauge railways observed 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 as supply routes to the fixed border defences.

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, carrying more than 30 million tonnes of sugar cane a year.

Besides stand-alone heritage railways, there are many examples of tourist 2 ft (610 mm) gauge and 600 mm (1 ft 11 ⁵⁄₈ in) gauge railways found in amusement parks and theme parks of various sizes 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 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.

Installations

See also

• Decauville
• Heritage railway
• List of track gauges

References