Most narrow-gauge railways in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

were constructed 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 d ...

Canada

Although many railways of central and eastern Canada were initially built to a (

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

), there were several railways, especially on Canada's Atlantic coast, which were built as individual narrow-gauge lines with track gauge and The only narrow-gauge system still in operation in the country is the gauge White Pass and Yukon Route.

Costa Rica

Costa Rican railways are gauge. Due to its mountainous terrain, the first railway was laid using Cape gauge in 1871. This set the standard for other railways to use the same gauge. Currently all of rail are . They are state owned and operated by INCOFER. See also Railways in Costa Rica

El Salvador

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

ran gauge steam trains into the 1970s. How much of this survived a civil war, earthquake and hurricane is unknown. However, the country began to rebuild and fix existing tracks in anticipation for new train service. FENADESAL currently uses the tracks to connect the capital city of

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

to its suburbs. There are now more plans to start a metro rail on the current tracks, making it the most effective narrow-gauge train tracks in Central America.

Guatemala

* gauge, Ferrovías Guatemala

Haiti

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

has had two different gauges on its railways. 130 km of rural line between

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

, Saint-Marc, and

Verrettes Verrettes (; ht, Vèrèt) is a commune in the Saint-Marc Arrondissement, in the Artibonite department of Haiti. It is located approximately 58 km north of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and has 48,724 inhabitants. * Settlements * DesJardi ...

(1905–about 1960s) used gauge.

Tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

lines in

(1878–1888 and 1896–1932), which was the first known track in

, and a total of 80 km of rural line west to Léogâne and east to Manneville (1896–1950s(?)) used gauge. Totalling over 100 km of track, the plantation railways in the north and north-east most likely used . There were at least four separate isolated lines. The story of the demise of one Haitian railroad is that it was sold and physically picked up, and shipped to Asia during the Papa Doc period (approx. 1957–1971). Other gauges may have been used on the plantation tracks in the north and north-east of

. The CIA fact book suggests that in the 1990s there were only 40 km of abandoned track left(?).

Mexico

Various narrow-gauge lines operated around Mexico City. A famous one operated in Morelos State. There were dozens of private narrow-gauge lines built to service the mining district, and some common carriers including the Córdoba and Huatusco Railroad, Cazadero and San Pablo Railroad, Hornos Railroad, and

Tacubaya Railroad Tacubaya Railroad (''Ferrocarril de Tacubaya'') was a , narrow gauge line serving an amusement park in the Tacubaya district of Mexico City. The line was built by Fernando de Teresa in 1896. Passengers were carried in several designs of roofed ...

. The Yucatán Peninsula region of Mexico has a network of narrow-gauge lines, established before the region was linked by rail to the rest of Mexico in the 1950s. Only the main line connecting Mérida to central Mexico has been widened to

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

Panama

Mule Locos haul ships through the locks in the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

(Gauge???)

St Kitts and Nevis

The narrow-gauge (30 inches)

St. Kitts Scenic Railway St. Kitts Scenic Railway is a long narrow gauge railway line along the coastline of the island of St. Kitts in the eastern Caribbean, with a track gauge of . History The original track was laid from 1912 to 1926, to deliver sugar cane from ...

circles the island and offers passenger service from its headquarters near the airport, although the service is geared more for tourists than as day-to-day transportation for residents. Built between 1912 and 1926 to haul sugar cane from farms to the sugar factory in Basseterre, since 2003 the railway has offered a 3.5 hour, 30-mile circle tour of the island on specially designed double-decker open-air coaches, with 12 miles of the trip being by bus.St. Kitts Scenic Railway
official site, accessed 15 December 2012.

United States

Many narrow-gauge railways were built in the United States with track gauge . The most extensive and well known systems were the gauge lines through the

Rocky Mountain The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

states of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the 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 western edge of t ...

and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. Today a few lines survive as heritage railways and tourist attractions.

USG Corporation USG Corporation, also known as United States Gypsum Corporation, is an American company which manufactures construction materials, most notably drywall and joint compound. The company is the largest distributor of wallboard in the United States ...

operates an industrial gauge line at

Plaster City, California Plaster City is an unincorporated community in Imperial County in the U.S. state of California. It is located west of El Centro, at an elevation of 105 feet (32 m). United States Gypsum operates a large gypsum quarry and plant there and owns ...

and narrow-gauge railways are still used for some tunneling and mining work.