Rail gauge in Ireland
Encyclopedia
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
is . This unusual gauge is currently otherwise found only in the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n states of Victoria, southern New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(as part of the Victorian rail network) and South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
(where it was introduced by the Irish railway engineer F. W. Sheilds
Francis Webb Sheilds
Francis Webb Sheilds was an early civil engineer on the Sydney Railway Company during its construction but before its opening.In England, Shields worked on a number of railway projecrs, including the then Dublin and Kingstown Railway. He considered himself to be a born railway engineer...
), and in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Historically, the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway
Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway
The Grand Duchy of Baden was an independent state in what is now southwestern Germany until the creation of the German Empire in 1871. It had its own state-owned railway company, the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways , which was founded in 1840...
also used this gauge, between 1840 and 1845 and in the early years of the Canterbury Provincial Railways
Canterbury Provincial Railways
The Canterbury Provincial Railways were an early part of the railways of New Zealand. Built by the Canterbury Provincial government to the broad gauge of 5 feet 3 inches , the railway reached most of the Canterbury region by the time the province was abolished in 1876...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Ireland's first railway, the Dublin and Kingstown
Dublin and Kingstown Railway
The Dublin and Kingstown Railway , which opened in 1834, was Ireland’s first railway. It linked Westland Row in Dublin with Kingstown Harbour’s West Pier in County Dublin.-History:...
, was built to (later known internationally as standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
). The Ulster Railway
Ulster Railway
The Ulster Railway was a railway company operating in Ulster, Ireland. The company was incorporated in 1836 and merged with two other railway companies in 1876 to form the Great Northern Railway .-History:...
(UR), taking the Irish Railway Commission's advice used . However, the Dublin and Drogheda Railway
Dublin and Drogheda Railway
Dublin and Drogheda Railway was an Irish gauge railway company in Ireland.The D&D constructed the railway line between Dublin and Drogheda. The company presented the scheme to parliament in 1836 and received royal assent on 13 August 1836. John MacNeill was appointed as the line's engineer in...
began building their new line to on the grounds of lower costs. Following complaints from the UR, the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
investigated the matter, and in 1843 recommended the use of and that compensation be paid to the UR for the costs incurred in changing to the new gauge.
This was given legal status by the Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act of 1846
Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act 1846
The Railway Regulation Act 1846 introduced mandated standard gauges of for Great Britain, and for Ireland. This signalled the end for Brunel's broad gauge network.-See also:* The GWR "gauge war"* Rail gauge in Ireland* Standard gauge...
which specified 4 feet 8 ½ inches for Great Britain, and 5 feet 3 inches for Ireland.
In 1846, the Ulster Railway was re-gauged
Gauge conversion
In rail transport, gauge conversion is the process of converting a railway from one rail gauge to another, through the alteration of the railway tracks...
at a cost of £19,000 and the Dublin and Kingstown Railway in 1857, at a cost of £38,000.
The Hill of Howth Tramway
Hill of Howth Tramway
Colloquially known as the Howth Tram, this tramway operated from June 1901 to June 1959 and served Howth Head, near Dublin, Ireland. The service was run by the Great Northern Railway , which viewed it as a way to bring more customers to its railway stations at Sutton and Howth.-Route:Electric...
and the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway
Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway
The Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway , later the Blessington and Poulaphouca Steam Tramway, operated steam-powered trams between Terenure in Dublin and Blessington in Co. Wicklow from 1888 until 1932.-History:...
adopted the gauge. The original Dublin tram system
Dublin tram system
Dublin tramways was a system of trams in Dublin, Ireland which commenced line-laying in 1871, and began service in 1872, following trials in the mid-1860s....
used 5 foot grooved rail which could accommodate railway wagons. However, Dublin's Luas
Luas
Luas , also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System, is a tram or light rail system serving Dublin, the first such system in the decades since the closure of the last of the Dublin tramways. In 2007, the system carried 28.4 million passengers, a growth of 10% since...
tram system, opened in 2004, uses standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
.
Numerous narrow-gauge systems were built, usually to a gauge of : see the list below. Most are now closed, including the largest narrow-gauge system in Ireland or Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
: the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee
County Donegal Railways Joint Committee
The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive 3 foot gauge railway system serving county Donegal, Ireland,from 1906 until 1960...
. The Irish narrow gauge today survives as heritage railways in both the Republic and in Northern Ireland. Bord na Móna
Bord na Móna
Bord na Móna , abbreviated BNM, is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company is responsible for the mechanised harvesting of peat, primarily in the Midlands of Ireland...
uses narrow gauge in the Midland's bogs as part of its peat transport network. There is also a private peat railway on the southern shores of Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...
in Northern Ireland, operated by the Sunshine Peat Company.
See also
- History of rail transport in IrelandHistory of rail transport in IrelandThe history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than that of Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland counted 5,500 route kilometers...
- Irish gaugeIrish gaugeIrish gauge railways use a track gauge of . It is used in* Ireland * Australia where it is also known as Victorian Broad Gauge* Brazil where it is also known as Bitola larga no Brasil....
- List of narrow gauge railways in Ireland
- Rail gaugeRail gaugeTrack gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
- List of rail gauges
- Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act 1846Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act 1846The Railway Regulation Act 1846 introduced mandated standard gauges of for Great Britain, and for Ireland. This signalled the end for Brunel's broad gauge network.-See also:* The GWR "gauge war"* Rail gauge in Ireland* Standard gauge...