The track gauge adopted by the mainline railways in Ireland is . This unusually broad track gauge is otherwise found only in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(where it was introduced by the Irish railway engineer F. W. Sheilds), in the states of Victoria, southern New South Wales (via some extensions of the Victorian rail network) and South Australia, as well as in Brazil. The Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway used this gauge between 1840 and 1855, as did the Canterbury Provincial Railways in New Zealand, until

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to the gauge in the 1860s. The

Launceston and Western Railway The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian Na ...

in Tasmania also used this gauge from 1871, until conversion to gauge in 1888.

Different gauges

Ireland's first railway, the Dublin and Kingstown, was built to (later known as

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 ...

). The Ulster Railway (UR), taking the Irish Railway Commission's advice, used . The Dublin and Drogheda Railway was proposed to be built to gauge on the grounds of lower costs. The two broader gauges were not used anywhere else. Following complaints from the UR the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

investigated the matter, and in 1843 decreed the use of . This gauge was given legal status by the

Regulating the Gauge of Railways Act 1846 The Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vic. c.57) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that was designed to standardise railway tracks. It achieved royal assent on 18 August 1846, during the reign of Queen Victoria of ...

, which specified 4 feet inches for Great Britain, 5 feet 3 inches for Ireland. In 1846 the UR was re-gauged at a cost of £19,000 (about £ today) and the Dublin and Kingstown Railway in 1857 for £38,000 (about £ today). The Hill of Howth Tramway and the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway adopted the gauge. Dublin's Luas tram system, opened in 2004, uses .

Narrow gauge

Numerous narrow-gauge systems were built, usually as

three foot gauge railways Three foot gauge railways have a track gauge of or 1 yard. This gauge is a narrow gauge and is generally found throughout North, Central, and South America. In Ireland, many secondary and industrial lines were built to gauge, and it is the ...

(). Most are now closed, including one of the largest narrow-gauge systems, that of the ''

County Donegal Railways Joint Committee The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive narrow gauge railway system serving County Donegal, Ireland, from 1906 until 1960. The committee was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint pur ...

''. The Irish narrow gauge today survives as heritage railways in both the Republic and in Northern Ireland.

Bord na Móna Bord na Móna (; English: "The Peat Board"), is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company began developing the peatlands of Ireland with the aim to provide economic benefit for Irish Midland c ...

uses narrow gauge in the Midlands bogs as part of its peat transport network. There is also a private peat railway on the southern shores of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...

in Northern Ireland, operated by the Sunshine Peat Company.

References

{{Navbox track gauge Ireland

Different gauges

Narrow gauge

See also

References