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Standard gauge was developed by British engineer George Stephenson, designer of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, who convinced manufacturers to build equipment using the 4 feet 8½ inch standard. In 1845 a royal commission recommended adoption of the 4 feet 8½ inch standard, and the following year Parliament passed the Gauge Act, which required that new railways use standard gauge. Except for the Great Western Railway's Broad gauge, few main-line British railways used a different gauge, and the Great Western was converted to standard gauge in 1892Events January 1 Ellis Island begins accepting immigrants to the United States. January 14 Death of Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, second in line heir to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Next in line is his younger b.
Originally a variety of gauges were used in the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in and CanadaCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe. Some, primarily in the north-east, used the British standard gauge; others did not, including track gauges up to six feet across. Given the nation's recent independence from the United Kingdom, arguments based on British standards had little weight. Problems began as soon as railroads began to meet other railroads, and in much of the northeastern United States the standard gauge was eventually adopted. Most Southern states used a five-foot gauge. Following the American Civil WarThe American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the northern states, popularly referred to as "the U. the Union," " the North," or "the Yankees"; and the seceding southern states, commonly referred to as "the Confederat, trade between the South and North grew and the break of gauge became a major economic nuisance. After considerable debate and planning, most of the southern rail network was converted from five-foot gauge to 4 foot 9 inch gauge (1448 mm, then the standard of the Pennsylvania RailroadThe Pennsylvania Railroad ( AAR reporting mark: PRR was an American railroad existing 1846 1968, after which it merged into the Penn Central. Commonly referred to as the Pennsy the company was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company's sym) over two days beginning May 31May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years). There are 214 days remaining. Events 1578 Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England, destined to mine fool's gold at Frobisher Bay, which is used to pave streets in Lo, 18861886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) Events January 18 Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. January 29 Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile. March. The final conversion to standard gauge took place gradually as track was maintained.
In the nineteenth century, RussiaThe Russian Federation ( Russian: , transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija , or Russia (Russian: , transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. With chose a broader gauge. It is widely believed that the choice was made for military reasons, to prevent potential invaders using their rail system. Others point out that no clear standard had emerged by 1842, when Tsar Nicholas II hired George Washington Whistler, a prominent American railroad engineer (and father of the artist James McNeill Whistler), to build Russia's first major railroad, the Moscow - St. Petersburg line. The selection of a five-foot gauge was consistent with practice in the Southern United States at the time. Russia and most of the former Russian Empire, including the Baltic states, Finland, Ukraine, Belarus, the Caucasian and Central Asian republics, and Mongolia, have a wider gauge of 5 feet (1524 mm; although the official Russian measurement is 1520 mm, they are interchangeable in practice).
Spain and Portugal both use a nominal 5 feet 5.5 inch gauge. The official Spanish standard is 1674 mm, and the Portuguese standard is 1665 mm. Interchange of traffic is possible with carefully designed equipment. With the advent of the European Community, Spain has embarked upon a partial regauging program. Spain's AVE high-speed rail lines, including the line from Madrid to Seville that opened in 1991 and the line from Madrid to Barcelona currently under construction, use standard gauge. To help the coversion from broad to standard gauge, there are now also stretches of dual gauge track.In the nineteenth century, Australia's then 3 mainland states originally adopted a uniform railway gauge of 4 foot 8½ inch, but due to the stupidities of politics a break of gauge 30 years in the future was created. After instigating a change to 5 foot 3 inch agreed to by all, New South Wales reverted back to 4 foot 8½ inch while Victoria and South Australia stayed with 5 feet 3 inch (1600 mm) gauge. Ireland and Northern Ireland also use the 1600 mm gauge. Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and parts of South Australia adopted the supposedly cheaper narrow gauge 3 feet 6 inches (1067mm).
In Toronto, Canada the Toronto Transit Commission subways and streetcars use a different gauge of 4 feet 10 7/8 inch (1495.42 mm), making their equipment incompatible with all other city transit systems. The Bay Area Rapid Transit system in the San Francisco Bay Area uses 5 feet 6 inch (1676 mm) gauge.
Upon independence from Britain, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had inherited a diversity of rail gauges, of which 1676 mm was predominant. Indian Railways has adopted Project unigauge, which seeks to systematically convert most of Indian Railways' narrower-gauge railways to the 1676 mm standard. Argentina and Chile also have some 1676 mm lines.
Afghanistan is in an interesting position, writing in 2004, because they are at the crossroads of Asia and are virtually without railways. Should they decide to build any, the choice of gauge will be complicated by their being surrounded by three different gauges (1435 mm, 1520 mm, 1676 mm) in four "gauge oceans" — Iran to the west uses standard gauge, as does China to the east; to the south, Pakistan uses the 1676 mm gauge, while to the north, the central Asian republics of Turkmenia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan use the 1520 mm gauge.In many areas a much narrower gauge was chosen. While narrow gauge generally can't handle as much tonnage, it is less costly to construct, particularly in mountainous regions. Plantations such as for sugar cane and bananas are appropriately served by narrow gauge lines such as 2 foot 0 inch (610 mm), as there is little through traffic to any broader gauge main line systems.
The railways of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Malaysia are predominantly metre-gauge (1000 mm). The proposed ASEAN railway, would be a standard-gauge or dual-gauge (metre- and standard-gauge) regional railway network, linking Singapore, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, through Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, to China's standard-gauge railway network.
Japan's railways are built to a 3 feet 6 inch (1067 mm) gauge. Japan's high-speed Shinkansen, or bullet trains were built to the 1435 mm standard for greater stability, which has caused some difficulties integrating high-speed and conventional passenger railway services. Taiwan, which was ruled by Japan from 1895 to 1945, has several 1067 mm lines, although its HSR high-speed line will also be standard-gauge. The railways of South Africa and many other African countries, including Angola, Botswana, Congo, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, use 1067 mm gauge, which is sometimes referred to as Cape gauge. Indonesia's railways are predominantly 1067 mm.