Portage railway

A portage railway is a short and possibly isolated section of railway used to bypass a section of unnavigable river or between two water bodies which are not directly connected. A portage railway is the opposite of a train ferry.

Examples

The following are or were locations of portage railways:

Australia

• Victor Harbor to Goolwa – originally horse drawn – mouth of Murray River often silted up or was useless due to low water levels.
• the first railway in Queensland started at the inland river port of Ipswich rather than the capital of Brisbane to save money. Twenty years later, the line was extended to Brisbane.
• several rail lines terminated at river ports, such as Robertson, Echuca, Bourke, Morgan, Brewarrina

Brazil

• Madeira-Mamoré Railroad (365 km; 227 mi) along the huge rapids of upper Madeira

Canada

• Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad
• Chignecto Ship Railway
• Huntsville and Lake of Bays Transportation Company
• Nosbonsing & Nipissing Railway
• White Pass and Yukon Route

Congo

• on Congo river:
  • Matadi–Kinshasa Railway
  • Congo-Ocean Railway
  • Ubundu to Kisangani, see Great lakes line first section

England

• Cromford and High Peak Railway connected Cromford Canal to the Peak Forest Canal

Greece

• Corinth Canal

Laos

• Don Det – Don Khon narrow gauge railway

Panama

• Panama Railway

Russia

• Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric dam ship elevator (pictures)

United States

• Allegheny Portage Railroad
• Morris Canal
• New Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike and Rail Road