Irish gauge

Irish gauge railways use a track gauge of 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in). It is used in

• Ireland (2,400 km or 1,491 mi )
• Australia (4,017 km or 2,496 mi) where it is also known as Broad Gauge.
• Brazil (4,057 km or 2,521 mi) where it is also known as Bitola larga.
• Baden, Germany, between 1840 and 1855, by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway, known as Breitspur.

History

Timeline

600 BCE

The Diolkos (Δίολκος) across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece – a grooved paved trackway – was constructed with an average gauge of 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in).

1840

The Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway was constructed to 1600 mm gauge.

1843

The Board of Trade of the United Kingdom recommended the use of 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) in Ireland, after investigating a dispute caused by diverse gauges in Ireland.

1846

An Act of Parliament, the Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act 1846, made this gauge mandatory on the island of Ireland.

1854–55

The Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway was converted to standard gauge.

1875

First narrow gauge (914 mm/​3 ft in Ireland)

2009

The 125 km (77.7 mi) long Oaklands railway line, which runs into New South Wales from Victoria, was converted to standard gauge. The project was relatively easy because the line has wooden sleepers.

200 km (124.3 mi) of the Albury-Wodonga railway line, Victoria was converted to standard gauge, meaning a double track standard gauge line was created between Seymour and Albury.

2012

December 5 - The Downpatrick & Ardglass Railway began public operation, the first Irish gauge heritage railway in Ireland.

Summary

Country/region	Notes
Australia	States of South Australia, Victoria (Victorian broad gauge), New South Wales (a few lines built by, and connected to, the Victorian rail system) and Tasmania, Australia (one line, Deloraine to Launceston, opened in 1871, partly converted to dual gauge, and then converted to 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) in 1888).
Brazil	Lines connecting the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais; E.F.Carajás in Pará and Maranhão states, and Ferronorte in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states. Used in most Metro systems.
Germany	Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway 1840 - 1855
Ireland	Irish broad gauge
New Zealand	Canterbury Provincial Railways (1863- ; All routes gauge converted to 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) by 1876)
United Kingdom	Northern Ireland Railways - entire network

Similar gauges

The Pennsylvania trolley gauges (5 ft 2 ¹⁄₄ in or 1,581 mm & 5 ft 2 ¹⁄₂ in or 1,588 mm) are similar. There is also 5 ft 2 in (1,575 mm), see track gauge in Ireland.

Locomotives

One of the supposed advantages of the broader Irish Gauge, compared to standard gauge, is that the greater space between the wheels allows for bigger cylinders. In practice, Ireland does not have any heavily-loaded or steeply-graded lines that would require especially powerful locomotives. The most powerful steam locomotives on systems of this gauge were:

• Ireland - GSR Class 800 – Tractive effort: 155 kN (34,850 lbf)
• Victoria - Victorian Railways H class - 245 kN (55,080 lbf); 23.6t axleload - 1 in 48 grade.

By comparison a non-articulated standard gauge locomotive in the same country was:

• NSW D57 class locomotive^{[citation needed]} of 286 kN (64,300 lbf) - 1 in 33 (3.333 %) grades

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

• Track gauge in Australia
• Rail transport in Brazil
• Track gauge in Ireland