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3 ft gauge railroads in the United States

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Track gauge
By transport mode
By size (list)
Graphic list of track gauges
  Minimum
  Fifteen inch 381 mm (15 in)
  Narrow
  600 mm 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Two foot 610 mm (2 ft)
Two foot three inch 686 mm (2 ft 3 in)
  750 mm 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Bosnian gauge 760 mm (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in)
Two foot six inch 762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
  Swedish three foot 891 mm (2 ft 11+3⁄32 in)
900 mm 900 mm (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in)
Three foot 914 mm (3 ft)
Italian metre 950 mm (3 ft1+13⁄32 in)
  Metre 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
  Three foot six inch 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
  Four foot 1,219 mm (4 ft)
  Four foot six inch 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)
  1432 mm 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in)
  Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
  Broad
  Italian broad gauge 1,445 mm (4 ft 8+7⁄8 in)
Dresden gauge 1,450 mm (4 ft 9+3⁄32 in)
  Leipzig gauge 1,458 mm (4 ft 9+13⁄32 in)
  Toronto gauge 1,495 mm (4 ft 10+7⁄8 in)
  1520 mm 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)
Five foot 1,524 mm (5 ft)
  Pennsylvania gauge 1,581 mm (5 ft 2+1⁄4 in)
Pennsylvania gauge 1,588 mm (5 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Five foot three inch 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
  Baltimore gauge 1,638 mm (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)
  Iberian gauge 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in)
Five foot six inch 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
  Six foot 1,829 mm (6 ft)
  Brunel 2,140 mm (7 ft 1⁄4 in)
  Breitspurbahn 3,000 mm (9 ft 101⁄8 in)
Change of gauge
By location
World map, rail gauge by region
Engine No. 1 of the Crooked Creek & Whiskey Island Railroad in Pioneer Park was built in 1899 and is the oldest working locomotive in Alaska.
The Ward Kimball locomotive of the Disneyland Railroad.
A pair of steam locomotives on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in the Colorado Rockies.
The Roger E. Broggie locomotive pulling its open-air sightseeing coaches on the Walt Disney World Railroad.
Preserved train cars of the defunct Oahu Railway and Land Company (note the dual gauge track underneath them).
A Midwest Central Railroad gas-powered switcher locomotive in Iowa.
A line of the defunct Nantucket Central Railroad Company sometime between 1910 and 1917.
A Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad water tower in its yard in New Mexico.
The Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad opened in 1963 at the start of Cedar Point's 94th season.
A geared steam locomotive pulling an excursion train on the Sumpter Valley Railway in Oregon.
A gas-electric doodlebug constructed by the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company of Pennsylvania.
Crewmen in front of a locomotive on the defunct East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad c. 1914.
The Six Flags & Texas Railroad, located in Six Flags Over Texas, is the only remaining attraction from the park's inaugural season in 1961.
A European-themed locomotive built by Crown Metal Products for the Busch Gardens Railway in Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

This is a list of 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge railways in the United States.

Narrow-gauge railroads of various sizes existed across the US, especially during the late 1800s, with the most popular gauge being 3 ft gauge.[1][2] Some of the more famous 3 ft gauge railroad networks in the US were based in California, Colorado, and Hawaii. These narrow-gauge lines were easier to build than standard gauge and cost significantly less to construct. Some of the lines of these former networks still exist in the present day and continue to use 3 ft gauge track, while the rest were either widened to standard gauge or abandoned (see table below).

Railroads

[edit]
State/territory Railway
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
  • Frankfort and Kokomo Railroad (converted from standard gauge) (defunct)
  • Hesston Steam Museum (2 ft (610 mm) gauge lines and dual gauge lines with 2 ft gauge track also present) (all 3 ft (914 mm) gauge trackage is dual-gauged with 2 ft gauge trackage) (separate 14 in (356 mm) gauge railway and separate 7+1⁄2 in (190.5 mm) gauge railway also present) (operating)
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
  • American Fork Railroad (defunct)
  • Bingham Canyon & Camp Floyd Railroad (defunct)
  • Crescent Mining Company Tramway (defunct)
  • Salt Lake & Eastern Railway (defunct)
  • Salt Lake & Fort Douglas Railway (defunct)
  • San Pete Valley Railroad (defunct)
  • Rio Grande Western Railway (crossed into Colorado) (converted to standard gauge) (defunct)
  • Utah and Nevada Railway (defunct)
  • Utah & Northern Railway (crossed into Idaho and Montana) (dual gauge lines with standard gauge track previously present) (partially converted to standard gauge) (defunct)
  • Wasatch & Jordan Valley Railway (defunct)
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
  • Oregon Short Line Railway (crossed into Idaho and Oregon) (dual gauge lines with standard gauge track previously present) (all 3 ft (914 mm) gauge trackage was dual-gauged with standard gauge trackage) (defunct)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Broggie 2014, p. 111.
  2. ^ The Standardization of Track Gauge on North American Railways, 1830-1890 Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Site - official website
  4. ^ Kauai Plantation Railway - official website Archived May 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Republic of West Florida Historical Museum - official website
  6. ^ Point O' Woods Railroad - official website
  7. ^ a b Annual Report of the Commissioner of Railroads & Telegraphs of Ohio, for the year ending June 30, 1880, p. 1,244
  8. ^ "Doe River Gorge - official website". Archived from the original on 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2014-02-02.

Bibliography

[edit]
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