It installed two inclined planes in 1844 and was converted to a tourist attraction in 1870. If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the, You will be hard pressed at finding a better online resource regarding diesel locomotives than Craig Rutherford's, In 1998 a gentleman by the name of Andre Kristopans put together a web page highlighting virtually every unit every out-shopped by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. Narrow Gauge Steam Railways round the World I have been a narrow gauge freak for over 30 years, back then, many countries boasted working narrow gauge steam - by which I mean (by and large) railways with a gauge of less than one metre, but which are not 'miniature' again it is an arbitrary decision on my part. The latter would link up with the Denver & Rio Grande for through service across the Rocky Mountains. An 'OO' gauge model railway designed and built to fit into the reception area of a hotel in Minehead. He persevered, however, and had more success with an 0-4+4-0 arrangement which found use on the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales. If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Historical Topographic Map Explorer. It is a must visit! 4 miles of restored narrow-gauge line, once part of the extensive network built to serve soldiers on the front during the Great War. This book is for anyone interested in modelling the Welsh narrow gauge railways and includes: The historical background to the railways … There were four big narrow gauge lines in Uruguay: Puerto del Sauce (now Juan Lacaze)-Terminal: 3 ft (914 mm), (1901–1959), Piriapolis-Pan de Azucar: 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) (1903–1958), km 393-Arrozal 33: 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) and km 110-Cantera Burgueño: 600 mm. World of Railways - News and Reviews World of Railways - Modelling Techniques World of Railways - Layouts Shows . or Best Offer. We have over 45 years’ experience in model trains, collectibles, toys and more. The Feve – unmarked on most Spanish railway maps, despite being a division of state-owned Renfe Operadora – is a trio of 1,000mm narrow-gauge lines, … © Copyright 2007-2021 American-Rails.com. Meanwhile, the historic narrow-gauge railway still runs from Collalbo to Maria Assunta, operating partly with original cars and partly with more modern ones. In every case, the railroads proved quite successful, in part due to their isolated location, disconnected from competing gauges. Born in 1831, he began his railroading career at the London & North Western and later became chief engineer and general manager of the Londonderry & Coleraine Railway in 1853/1854. This is what you will find the most on our site. However, these were designed for specific purposes, not main line service. Colombia and Peru have 3 ft (914 mm) gauge lines. Despite failing to reach the Mexican border, Palmer's railroad was completed largely as he had originally envisioned. Nevertheless, the so-called "Narrow Gauge Fever" persisted, lasting through the mid-1880's before supporters finally recognized its flaws. 1 bid. The work concerned subjects and arguments previous promoters had already covered, such as lower operational and construction costs. Cornish Railways: Saltash to St Austell (Key) PeruRail operate the narrow-gauge railway train Cusco - Machu Picchu line, the last station Aguas Calientes. Of the three-foot corridors built during the 19th century, most wound up as branches of large trunk lines like the Baltimore & Ohio, Milwaukee Road, and Union Pacific. This railroad operates with Porta Treatment and features highly efficient steam engines. In many cases, few had actual experience in rail operations (to learn more about these numbers, again, please read Mr. Hilton's book). ; Bell-and-hook from 1902 on 2 feet (610 millimetres) narrow gauge in the Cape of Good Hope. Using this standard track spacing, the size of the locomotive and rolling stock can be adjusted to represent tiny narrow gauge European trains up to standard gauge modern American locomotives. Porta in the late 1990's / early 2000's. On30 Scale - PECO Sl-e596 Code 100 NS Rail L/h Medium Radius Turnout. Many additional narrow-gauge railways, such as the Thumer Netz, were built in short order, almost all of them using a standardized 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) track gauge. The East Broad Top was a successful short line for nearly a century and later saw success as a tourist attraction. Some, however, survived independently well into the 20th century such as the East Broad Top, East Tennessee & Western North Carolina, part of the Denver & Rio Grande Western, White Pass & Yukon, and the railroads of Hawaii (notably the Oahu Railway & Land Company) which were free from standard gauge competition. A Rio Grande publicity photo featuring a colorful little Consolidation, #268 (C-16), posed in Salida, Colorado in 1952. All photos and videos, copyright individual owners/organizations. The Narrow Gauge World is just... that – a specialist area of the railway scene, with its own appeal, demands and challenges, and the only UK newsstand magazine that is completely narrow gauge, and only narrow gauge, is Narrow Gauge World. Also of note were Maine's famous two-footers, which predominately served its timber industry. There were also several quarry lines of 600 mm gauge, among them the famous INDARE sand line. £599.00. The previously mentioned Fox also believed in the narrow gauge concept. His first line, running 38 kilometers (23.61 miles) opened between Hamar and Elverum, Norway on June 23, 1862. Despite his words, the movement had gained too much momentum to be slowed as dozens of projects were still slated through the 1880's. Many were pulled up in the 1970's and 1980's although others were removed long before that. Ironically, the Denver & Rio Grande Railway was to act as part of all three although Palmer had never actually envisioned his system as part of a through, east-to-west corridor. The information here primarily highlights the American movement with a brief look at its origins. A nar­row-gauge railway (nar­row-gauge railroad in the US) is a rail­way with a track gauge nar­rower than the stan­dard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in). In Brazil, almost all the lines are 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge, with the exception of a few lines in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Mato Grosso. Bemo metal collection. After consultation with British engineers, notably Sir Charles Fox, and the work of other Englishmen in the development of narrow-gauge locomotives (principally Isaac W. Boulton, John Smith, and John Ramsbottom between 1861-1862), Pihl was ready to begin construction. Collection in person. The later proliferation of 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches throughout the United States, particularly by the 1870's, happened largely by accident as the industry sought an optimal gauge for improved service (and, ultimately, greater profits). 4.8 out of 5 stars (5) Total Ratings 5, $99.99 New. From St. Louis, it would connect with other prospective narrow gauges under development, notably the St. Louis & Leavenworth Narrow-Gauge (to link St. Louis with Leavenworth, Kansas) and the Kansas Central Railway (to run from Leavenworth to Denver). A gauge of 3 feet, 6 inches was selected with 2-4-0 and 4-4-0 tank locomotives (of British design) chosen as the primary power. Two events occurred in 1870 which set into motion widespread use of narrow gauge railroads across America; on September 19, 1870 Robert Fairlie presented his work entitled "On The Gauge For The Railways Of The Future" to the British Association for the Advancement of Science at Liverpool, England (it was reprinted in the Railway Gazette on October 15th) and General William J. Palmer chartered the Denver & Rio Grande Railway on October 27, 1870. When opened on March 1, 1875 the C&StL boasted a 150-mile system, then the longest of its type in service. Modern British Railways. At the Rio Grande River the T&StL would interchange with the Mexican National Railway to run 803 miles to Mexico City. ", "I need not make a detailed statement of the cost of building these cars or coaches, since it will be obvious that three narrow gauge coaches will cost as much as two standard gauge coaches. The gauge of a railroad is the distance between the inside vertical surfaces of the head of the rail. In a scene that could date several decades earlier, the Ten-Wheeler would be replaced by a narrow-gauge diesel named "Little Giant" later that October. A number of industrial (a 2 ft (610 mm) gauge Portland Cement line near São Paulo, for example) and agricultural (rubber plantations, sugar plantations, logging) railways also existed in Brazil in a number of narrow gauges, but few of those survive today. Most of the railways in Colombia are 3 ft (914 mm) gauge. This is a famous route, the one that zig zags past the chilling canyon of the Devil's Nose. He entered the railroad industry in 1848 as a freight clerk on the Atlanta & West Point, and slowly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming superintendent of the Western & Atlantic in 1868. If the fund available is not sufficient to construct a standard gauge, a metre gauge or a narrow gauge is preferred rather than to have no railways at all. Vale (ex-CVRD) also has a line with 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) gauge lines once operated in Minas Gerais, centered on the city of São João del-Rey. $30.99 Used. It may be surprising to learn U.S. railroads of less than 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches date back to the industry's earliest days. The Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino operates a fleet of narrow gauge steam engines modernized by Shaun McMahon (CSR) and L.D. Today's Railways UK Today's Railways Europe Platform 5 Books New Titles Recently Published ... British Narrow Gauge Railways No. The Transandean railway was metre gauge but is no longer in operation between Chile and Argentina. The largest of the mass-produced model trains, G Scale trains run on track 45mm or 1.75" from rail to rail. The other train operating on the line is the luxury "Hiram Bingham" run by a WagonLit Inc of Europe (part of Orient Express company) and is incredibly expensive. HOn3 (1:87 narrow gauge Scale) A History. Interestingly, he never explained how his transcontinental project would reach the west coast beyond Utah. This little Mikado was scrapped in 1953. However, all the track is preserved. ... Bachmann Hon30 Scale Narrow Gauge Skarloey Thomas Locomotive 58601. When these endeavors died so did the dream of a national network; the 4 feet, 8 1/2 inch gauge had been too well-established by the 1870's along with industry's monetary backing. As such, he built a 3 foot, 6 inch line in India (then a British colony) running 16 miles from Arconum Junction to Conjeveram, which opened in May, 1865. Just two years later, on August 5, 1864 a second route, running 49 kilometers (30.45 miles) opened between Trondheim and Storen according to the Norwegian publication "Norges Jernbaner, 1958-1959.". Some of the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap} 3⁄8 in) gauge lines cross international borders, though not as efficiently as they might. Around 300 m of that sand line is preserved and also a lot of steam locomotives. Chris Arnot is author of Small Island by Little Train: A Narrow-Gauge Adventure (AA, £16.99). After losing the famous battle with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe for access over Raton Pass, the D&RG never reached Texas and the Rio Grande River. Here, 2-8-2 #12 is on the wye near Shirleysburg, Pennsylvania on February 22, 1969. Other small narrow-gauge lines include the Rio de Janeiro streetcar (Bonde de Santa Teresa), with approximately 13 km of 1,100 mm (3 ft 7 5⁄16 in) gauge, and a very short industrial railway near Bertioga built to 800 mm (2 ft 7 1⁄2 in) gauge. HO comes in two varieties 3-rail AC (Marklin) & 2-rail DC (Everyone Else). To read more about its history please click here. New Delhi, Jan 1 (IANS): Suneet Sharma on Friday took over the charge as new Railway Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Indian Railways and ex-officio Principal Secretary to the government, officials said. Roger Puta photo. £8.00 postage. A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ⁄2 in). Where narrow gauges had been successful, proponents often ignored the fact these were disconnected operations, or part of a larger network free from competition. This single factor is what ultimately doomed narrow gauge promoters in their efforts to build a national network. The financial Panic of 1873 inhibited construction, but only briefly; by 1880 there were 6,200 miles in operation. They used hypothetical figures to promote their agenda. -. However, through the immediate post World War-II era (1946), more than 1,000 miles remained in use, scattered throughout the country. In 1998 a gentleman by the name of Andre Kristopans put together a web page highlighting virtually every unit every out-shopped by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. Bachmann 24133 Whistle-Stop Special Digital N Gauge Steam Starter Train Set $289.99 $479.00 Bachmann 53653 N New York Central 4-6-4 Hudson Steam Locomotive #5426 5 out of 5 stars (3) Total Ratings 3, $32.19 New. Today, there are tens of thousands of miles scattered throughout the country. Petit train de la Haute Somme. By Peter Nicholson This first edition from Platform 5 Publishing is the definitive guide to all narrow gauge steam locomotives known to exist in Great Britain and Ireland of track gauges 1ft 6in to 4ft 6in. Metre-gauge railways are found in the northern half of the country but are no longer in operation. All were isolated short lines or secondary branches. Some of his remarks were as follows: "The labor involved in the construction of a narrow gauge coach is very nearly the same as that required to construct a standard gauge coach, although the quantity of materials required will be less. In any event, his beliefs led him to the conclusion that 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches resulted in the equipment's tare weight (weight of an empty car) being too heavy for traditional transport of passengers and ladding (freight). Here, 2-8-2's #498 (K-37) and #484 (K-36) ready to leave Chama, New Mexico for Alamosa, Colorado in June, 1967. Finally, while Palmer established what ultimately became America's largest and most profitable 3-foot system (its network peaked at 1,673 miles in 1887), a gentleman by the name of Colonel Edward Hulbert promoted narrow gauges in the Southeast. All content copyright American-Rails.com (unless otherwise noted). In 1871, there were only 97 miles of narrow gauge railroads in service but just four years later, this number had jumped to 1,474 miles. The government will also purchase new locomotives. During the 1870's, a growing consortium viewed narrow gauge railroads as a cost effective and more efficient alternative to what became America's standard; 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches. Narrow Gauge Railroads During the 1870's, a growing consortium viewed narrow gauge railroads as a cost effective and more efficient alternative to what became America's standard; 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches. Today, some of the previously mentioned railroads survive as popular, and quite successful, tourist attractions. During this time, more than 11,000 miles were placed into operation. Scenic heirtage line round the estuary of the river Somme from Le Crotoy to Cayeux sur Mer. Another British territory, Queensland (Australia), opened is own 3 foot, 6 inch railroad on July 31, 1865. It was quickly dismissed by opponents. It fills a gap between ‘Preserved Locomotives of Drew Jacksich photo. The information includes original numbers, serials, and order numbers. Gauges of less than four feet were not new when the movement took hold. Donald Duke photo. While various widths were tested, ranging from 2 feet to 3 feet, 6 inches, promoters settled upon 3 feet as the optimal gauge. Nevertheless, with interest growing, a National Narrow-Gauge Railway Convention was held in St. Louis at the Southern Hotel on June 19, 1872 where advocates spoke about the gauge's benefits and tried to convert skeptics (a second convention was held at the Lookout House in Cincinnati on July 17-18, 1878). Baie de Somme steam railway. There is no single factor that explains why many early American railroads opted for the width of 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches. The Rainforest Ecological Train is a 600 mm environmentally-friendly train that runs through the forest inside Iguazú National Park in the north of the province of Misiones of Argentina. The RGS was a D&RGW competitor linking Durango with Ridgway. 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) railways are found in the northern half of the country. Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Narrow-gauge_railways_in_South_America&oldid=988700134, Articles needing additional references from September 2014, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 November 2020, at 19:20. Buy Narrow Gauge Model Railways & Trains and get the best deals at the lowest prices on eBay! ", "Very little is saved in the equipment of a narrow gauge road with locomotive power, for a small engine will not do so much work in proportion to its cost as a large engine, and a million tons of freight can be hauled over any road with less cost for motive power with a large engine of a standard gauge road than with a small engine of a narrow gauge road. The narrow gauge's greatest success was as feeder branches, ironically the very thing many had suggested from the start. There were two principal ideas for this coast-to-coast network; neither garnered significant investment and only a few hundred miles were actually constructed. PECO On30 Narrow Gauge Code 100 NS Medium Radius RH Turnout Sl-e595. Shortly before discontinuing all operations, Rio Grande Southern 2-8-2 #461 was photographed here in front of the Union Station at Ridgway, Colorado by Richard Kindig on September 5, 1951. Floods, landslides and government neglect have put this operation in doubt, but they are working to restore the railway. Currently two Baldwin locomotives are ready to work, depending on track and traffic. The recently elected president Rafael Correa declared the state of emergency of the national railway. This particular project ran 20 miles from Ipswich to Grandchester and was another in which Sir Charles Fox was involved. At the time, Britain produced nearly all iron rails and locomotives found throughout the world. RMI Railworks manufactures miniature railroad equipment used for the live steam hobby as well as commercial trains used in shopping malls and parks. The Old Patagonian Express (La Trochita) is a 402 km-long 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) narrow-gauge railway in the Andean foothills of Patagonia, now running as two portions of its original length, and only as a tourist attraction. Incredibly, though, there are writings that tell of even earlier operations in Europe dating back to the 13th, 15th, and 16th centuries. Even more curious is the fact it was never projected to actually run from coast to coast. The narrow gauge railroad is a complicated subject; it arose from no single event although was heavily influenced by Robert F. Fairlie. If you are researching anything EMD related please visit this page first. SM32 16mm narrow gauge COMPLETE set of FOUR Wood Valley Works Quarry Wagons RTR. Most nar­row-gauge rail­ways are be­tween 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) and 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). The most damning testimony came from an individual who had actual experience in narrow gauge operations; Lorenzo M. Johnson, general manager of the Cairo & St. Louis Railroad. A popular pastime for many is studying and/or exploring abandoned rights-of-way. Today, there are tens of thousands of miles scattered throughout the country. Website; Picardy: Neuville les Bray. The amount of information found there is quite staggering; historical backgrounds of wheel arrangements, types used by virtually every railroad, preserved and operational examples, and even those used in other countries (North America and beyond). Great Savings Free Delivery / Collection on many items ", "More engines will be required to haul a million tons of freight on a narrow gauge road than on a standard gauge road; moreover, the lighter engines do not execute their work so satisfactorily, as they get out of order more frequently...", "Let any man who is seeking for investment of capital in railway construction, consult those who have operated both classes of roads, and he will be advised, almost invariably, that he will save very little in cost of construction, equipment, and operation, and that he will lose business from competition, if he adopts the narrow gauge.". The most popular gauge, offering the most options. He has secured funding for a master plan to restore it to its previous glory. Steam services. ; AAR knuckle wide use from 1927 on Cape gauge. Rio Grande Southern 2-8-2 #455 (then in D&RGW paint) leads a short freight train near near Vanadium, Colorado on June 5, 1951. This network at one time had over 770 km of railway in operation, but only about 13 km remain in operation as a steam powered tourist railway. London Festival of Railway Modelling - Alexandra Palace - 23/24 March 2019 National Festival of Railway Modelling - Peterborough - 7/8 December 2019 Mags . He gave his first public speech regarding the narrow gauge concept on February 14, 1871 and later released a pamphlet in August, 1871 entitled, "The Narrow Gauge Railway.". The 0-4+4-0's success gave Fairlie increasing support as he continued to push for expanded narrow gauge service throughout other parts of the British Empire. All were dismantled. There is also a coal railway Ramal Ferro Industrial Río Turbio, that however is no longer in operation. Most narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm (1 ft 11 ⁄8 in) and 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). East Tennessee & Western North Carolina, "The Tweetsie". Also, a new narrow-gauge line, of around 1 km, with two diesel locomotives from the former km 110-Cantera Burgueño line, was constructed in a park on the town of Santiago Vazquez, in the West of Montevideo. In the first phase of this plan, the Ecuadorian government will invest over US $283 million to completely repair the country's existing railway system and infrastructure, such as bridges, walls and stations. One of those is in working order. Even prior to the great "Narrow Gauge Fever" of the 1880's, cracks in the ideology were developing; there was an increasing number of detractors (such as the Gazette's Matthias Nace Forney, Benjamin H. Latrobe [a respected railroad engineer who was the Baltimore & Ohio's chief engineer in its early years], and Silas Seymour [another noted engineer who worked his way up through the Erie Railway's ranks, eventually reaching the status, chief engineer of construction]). Later known as the "Fairlie Type" it was not necessarily a new invention and heavily criticized by experts at the time. Buffers-and-chain from 1859 to 1873.; Johnston link-and-pin from 1873 to 1927 on Cape gauge, from 1906 on 2 feet (610 millimetres) narrow gauge in Natal. A popular pastime for many is studying and/or exploring abandoned rights-of-way. NELPG News : The Old Run (Middleton Railway, Leeds) Push & Pull (Keighley & Worth Valley Railway) Rail. The current railway network consists of three routes: Western, Eastern and Central, running for approximately 940 km along with several branch lines. The C&StL was a very early 3-foot system, chartered in 1865 with intentions of linking Cairo, Illinois, along the Illinois Central's main line, with St. Louis. While it did offer better stability and additional per-car tonnage, many felt uniformity with British practice, a country which had long since established the gauge as its standard, improved efficiency. 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ⁄8 in) railways are found in the northern half of the country. It had some success in the latter but its greatest achievement was adopting a series of standard practices with its "Committee of Eleven" agreeing on a principal gauge of 3 feet with a height of 24 inches from the rail to the coupler's center. The modern narrow gauge movement began in Britain although its use in main line applications is widely credited to Carl Pihl, chief engineer of the Norwegian State Railways. The massive narrow-gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) coal trains of the Queensland Railway with 100 wagons and 2 midtrain electric locomotives show what is possible with narrow gauge with modern equipment and tracklaying techniques. The railway from Guayaquil to Quito featured in the 1983 BBC television series Great Little Railways. At the time, this remaining segment of the C&C, known as the Owenyo Branch and Keeler Branch, handled mostly potash and soda. It is an excellent resource with thousands of historic maps on file throughout the country. However, there is a short section used for industrial (copper) operations in the area between the station at Los Andes and the Río Blanco station. Some of the unique four-wheeled carriages used back then survive today. The section here provides a brief history of narrow gauge railroads, why they came so revered, and their eventual downfall. All railways in Bolivia are 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge. Back in America, the narrow gauge was not entirely novel; the Mauch Chunk, Summit Hill & Switchback Railroad, a division of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, had been hauling anthracite coal from mines near Summit Hill, Pennsylvania via a 3 foot, 6 inch mule and gravity-powered railroad since operations were launched on May 5, 1827. In the September, 1878 issue of Scribner's Monthly, in a piece entitled "Are Narrow-Gauge Roads Economical?," Johnson flatly laid out actual real dollars and cents regarding how a narrow gauge railroad stacked up against its standard gauge counterpart. Feet, built to serve soldiers on the descent is also a lot of steam locomotives famous... America 's interurban movement, it witnessed a short lifespan that survived only a few miles... Extensive network built to serve mines a former 600 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) track gauge then longest... Grandchester and was another in which Sir Charles Fox was involved wide from... 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Please visit this page first car was replaced by the present modern gondola ropeway excellent resource with thousands of scattered! Resource with thousands of historic maps on file throughout the world as and! Feet, built to serve mines to coast savings and tight clearances a number of diesel railbuses some. And transferred it over to his what you will find the most options Push & Pull Keighley... More curious is the fact it was never projected to actually run from coast to.... Than four feet were not New when the movement took hold Alexandra Palace - 23/24 2019... Many thousands more would be built feet ( 610 millimetres ) narrow gauge Thomas!