Thetrack gauge adopted by the mainline railways inIrelandis1,600 mm(5 ft 3 in). This unusually broadtrack gaugeis otherwise found only inAustralia(where it was introduced by the Irish railway engineerF. W. Sheilds), in the states ofVictoria,southernNew South Wales(via some extensions of the Victorian rail network) andSouth Australia,as well as inBrazil.
TheGrand Duchy of Baden State Railwayused this gauge between 1840 and 1855, as did theCanterbury Provincial RailwaysinNew Zealand,untilconversionto the1,067 mm(3 ft 6 in) gauge in the 1860s. TheLaunceston and Western RailwayinTasmaniaalso used this gauge from 1871, until conversion to1,067 mm(3 ft 6 in) gauge in 1888.
Different gauges
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Ireland's first railway, theDublin and Kingstown,was built to1,435 mm(4 ft8+1⁄2in) (later known asstandard gauge). TheUlster Railway(UR), taking the Irish Railway Commission's advice, used1,880 mm(6 ft 2 in). TheDublin and Drogheda Railwaywas proposed to be built to1,575 mm(5 ft 2 in) gauge[1]on the grounds of lower costs. The two broader gauges were not used anywhere else. Following complaints from the UR, theBoard of Tradeinvestigated the matter, and in 1843 decreed the use of1,600 mm(5 ft 3 in).[2]
This gauge was given legal status by theRegulating the Gauge of Railways Act 1846,[3]which specified 4 ft 8.5 in (1.435 m) for Great Britain, 5ft 3in for Ireland.
The UR wasre-gaugedin 1846, at a cost of £19,000 (about £2,324,000 today), and the Dublin and Kingstown Railway in 1857 for £38,000 (about £4,579,000 today).
TheHill of Howth Tramwayand theDublin and Blessington Steam Tramwayalso adopted the1,600 mm(5 ft 3 in) gauge. Dublin'sLuastram system, opened in 2004, uses1,435 mm(4 ft8+1⁄2in)standard gauge.
Narrow gauge
editNumerousnarrow-gaugesystems were built, usually asthree foot gauge railways(3 ftor914 mm). Most are now closed, including one of the largest narrow-gauge systems, that of theCounty Donegal Railways Joint Committee.The Irish narrow gauge today survives as heritage railways in boththe Republicand inNorthern Ireland.Bord na Mónauses narrow gauge in the Midlands bogs as part of its peat transport network. There is also a private peat railway on the southern shores ofLough Neaghin Northern Ireland, operated by the Sunshine Peat Company.
See also
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edit- ^Steaming into the Future
- ^Friel, Charles P."Railways in Craigavon".Journal of Craigavon Historical Society.2(2). Archived fromthe originalon 12 May 2021.
- ^"Regulating the Gauge of Railways Act 1846"(PDF).