In railway terminology,

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 ...

indicates the distance between the inside edges of the running rails. Standard gauge is defined as , and

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

as any gauge less than that distance. In Britain, standard gauge is used for all main line routes and the majority of urban light rail. Narrow gauge railways were constructed mainly where there was a need for tighter curves, smaller

structure gauge A structure gauge, also called the minimum clearance outline, is a diagram or physical structure that sets limits to the extent that bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure can encroach on rail vehicles. It specifies the height and width of pl ...

s, and lighter rails, as they could be less costly to build, equip and operate than standard gauge railways (particularly in mountainous or difficult terrain). Narrow gauge railways in Britain used various gauges. was relatively uncommon; in his book ''Railway Adventure'',

L. T. C. Rolt Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt (usually abbreviated to Tom Rolt or L. T. C. Rolt) (11 February 1910 – 9 May 1974) was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Te ...

states that apart from the Talyllyn, the only public railways to use the gauge were the

Corris Corris is a village in the county of Gwynedd, Wales, about north of the town of Machynlleth. The village lies on the west bank of the Afon Dulas (which here forms the boundary with Powys), around that river's confluence with the Afon Deri ...

and Campbeltown and Machrihanish railways. However there were several private railways, including mine and quarry railways, which used the gauge.

List of 2 ft 3 in gauge railways

This list, whilst not necessarily complete, details all railways that are believed to have used gauge at some point during their existence.

Similar gauges

No railways of an identical gauge are known outside Britain, though lines of gauge are known in Latvia and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

and several Cuban sugar cane railways. Other British railways of similar, but not identical, gauge were: *

Snailbeach District Railways Snailbeach District Railways was a British narrow gauge railway in Shropshire. It was built to carry lead ore from mines in the Stiperstones to Pontesbury where the ore was transshipped to the Great Western Railway's Minsterley branch line. Co ...

, gauge * Welbeck Colliery, Nottinghamshire, gauge, which closed in 2010. *

Glyn Valley Tramway Glyn means "Valley" in Welsh and may refer to: *Glyn (name), including a list of people with the name *Baron Glyn, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom *Glyn baronets, created for members of the Glyn family *Glyn Ceiriog, a former slate ...

, gauge

Notes

References

{{Reflist

List of 2 ft 3 in gauge railways

Similar gauges

See also

Notes

References