Two foot and 600 mm gauge railways are narrow gauge railways with

track gauge In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many ...

s of and , respectively. Railways with similar, less common track gauges, such as and , are grouped with 2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways.

Overview

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

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and the

Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad The Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad (CC&VNG RR) is a narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates seasonal tourist trains between Cripple Creek and the city's outskirts to the south. The railroad uses a revitalized section of the o ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

trench railways Trench railways represented military adaptation of early 20th-century railway technology to the problem of keeping soldiers supplied during the static trench warfare phase of World War I. The large concentrations of soldiers and artillery at the f ...

produced the greatest concentration of gauge railways to date. In preparation for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the French Maginot Line and Alpine Line also used gauge railways for supply routes to the fixed border defenses. Australia has over of gauge

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

railway networks in the coastal areas of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, which carry more than 30 million tonnes of sugarcane a year. Many gauge and 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 The South African Railways Class NG15 2-8-2 is a class of narrow-gauge steam locomotive. In 1931, three narrow-gauge Class NG15 locomotives with a Mikado type wheel arrangement, similar in design to the existing Class Hd and Class NG5 locomoti ...

locomotives started their career on the gauge. The

Otavi Mining and Railway Company The Otavi Mining and Railway Company (''Otavi Minen- und Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'' or OMEG) was a railway and mining company in German South West Africa (today's Namibia). It was founded on 6 April 1900 in Berlin with the Disconto-Gesellschaft and ...

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

(now

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

) were transferred to the

2 ft gauge railways in South Africa In the early 1900s, narrow-gauge railway lines started playing a significant role in South Africa. They facilitated the transport of various agricultural and mineral produce from locations hardly accessible by road. They therefore enabled man ...

and currently some surviving locomotives reside in

on the gauge

Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a long, restored narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations ...

and the gauge

Brecon Mountain Railway The Brecon Mountain Railway (Welsh: ''Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog'') is a narrow gauge tourist railway on the south side of the Brecon Beacons. It climbs northwards from Pant along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir (also called ...

Railways

References

{{Navbox track gauge

Overview

Exchange of rolling stock

Railways

See also

References