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 600 mm 610 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) (2 ft)   750 mm Bosnian gauge Two foot six inch 750 mm 760 mm 762 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in) (2 ft 6 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 in) (3 ft)   Metre 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)   Three foot six inch 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)   Four foot zero inch 1,219 mm (4 ft 0 in)   Four foot six inch 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)   Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Broad   Dresden gauge 1,450 mm (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)   1520 mm Five foot 1,520 mm 1,524 mm (4 ft 11+7⁄8 in) (5 ft)   Pennsylvania gauge Pennsylvania gauge Five foot three inch 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)   Iberian gauge Five foot six inch 1,668 mm 1,676 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) (5 ft 6 in)
Change of gauge
Break-of-gauge Dual gauge Conversion (list) Bogie exchange Variable gauge
By location
North America South America Europe Australia
v t

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' Caen station in France.

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

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.

Most of these lines are tourist lines, which are often heritage railways or industrial lines, such as the Festiniog 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 sugarcane 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.

Installations[]

See also[]

• Decauville
• Heritage railway
• Large amusement railways
• List of track gauges
• Minimum gauge railway

References[]