5 ft and 1520 mm gauge railways
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Railways with a railway track gauge of 5 ft (1,524 mm) first appeared in the United Kingdom and the United States. This gauge became commonly known as "Russian gauge", because the government of the Russian Empire chose it in 1843. Former areas and states of the Empire have inherited this standard.[1] However in 1970, Soviet Railways re-defined the gauge as 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in).[2]
With about 225,000 km (140,000 mi) of track, 1,520 mm is the second-most common gauge in the world, after 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
History
Great Britain, 1748
In 1748, the
In 1839, the
United States, 1827
In 1827, Horatio Allen, the chief engineer of the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, prescribed the usage of 5 ft (1,524 mm) gauge. Many other railroads in the Southern United States adopted this gauge. The presence of several distinct gauges was a major disadvantage to the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. In 1886, when around 11,500 miles (18,500 km) of 5 ft gauge track existed in the United States, almost all of the railroads using that gauge were converted to 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm), the gauge then used by the Pennsylvania Railroad.[5]
Russian Empire, 1842
In 1837, the first railway built in Russia was a 6 ft (1,829 mm) gauge, 17 km long experimental line connecting
In 1840, work started on the second railway in the Russian Empire, the Warsaw–Vienna railway in Congress Poland. It was a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, with the express intention of allowing through-freight trains into Austria-Hungary.[6][7]
The modern Russian railway network solidified around the
At the time, questions of continuity with the European network did not arise. By the time difficulties arose in connecting the Prussian railroads to the Russian ones in Warsaw in the 1850s, it was too late to change.[6]
A persistent myth holds that
did pose some amount of obstacle to the invading Germans.Expansion
The 5-foot gauge became the standard in the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union.
Russian engineers used it on the
Unlike in
There were proposals in 2013 for north-south and east-west lines in Afghanistan, with construction to start in 2013.[13]
Panama, 1850
The
Finland, 1862
The first rail line
Technical
Redefinitions
In the late 1960s the gauge was redefined to 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) in the Soviet Union.[3] At the same time the tolerances were tightened. As the running gear (wheelsets) of the rolling stock remained unaltered, the result was an increased speed and stability.[14] The conversion took place between 1970 and the beginning of the 1990s.[14]
In Finland, the
After its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Estonia redefined its track gauge to 1,524 mm, to match Finland's gauge.[16] The redefinition did not mean that all the railways in Estonia were changed immediately. It was more a rule change, so that all renovated old tracks and new railways would be constructed in 1,524 mm gauge from then on. (See Track gauge in Estonia.)
Tolerances
Finland allows its gauge to be 1,520–1,529 mm on first class lines (classes 1AA and 1A, speed 220–160 km/h).[17]
If the rolling stock's tolerance is kept within certain limits, through running between 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) railways and Finnish 1,524 mm (5 ft) railways is allowed. Since both 1,520 and 1,524 mm tolerances overlap, the difference is negligible. The international high-speed Allegro's gauge between Helsinki and St. Petersburg was specified as 1,522 mm.[18]
Loading gauge
The
For standard gauge railways, double stacking maximum height shall be 6.15 m (20 ft 2 in). For Indian gauge railways, double stacking maximum height shall be 7.1 m (23 ft 4 in), and minimum overhead wiring height shall be 6.5 or 6.75 m (21 ft 4 in or 22 ft 2 in) above rails. Minimum overhead wiring height for double stacking, standard gauge railways shall be 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in), and Indian gauge railways shall be 7.45 m (24 ft 5 in) above rails, respectively. This would apply to Russia and Europe (or North America), rather than to Russia and China (or Iran).
Current status
Primary usage
The primary countries currently using the gauge of 5 ft or 1,520 mm, include:[19]
Extended usage
Short sections of Russian or 5 ft gauge extend
There is an approximately 150 km long section in Hungary in the Záhony logistics area close to the Ukrainian border.[21]
Following renovations in 2014, a 32 km section of dual
The most western 1,520 mm gauge railway is the Polish
Use in rapid transit and light rail systems
Although broad gauge is quite rare on
Finland's
Underground urban rapid transit systems in the former USSR, like the Moscow Metro, Saint Petersburg Metro, Kyiv Metro and Yerevan Metro use Russian gauge (1,520 mm). Outside the former USSR, the Helsinki Metro in Finland that utilizes a unique track gauge of 1,522 mm, falls between the Russian gauge (1,520 mm) and broad gauge 1,524 mm.
Similar gauges
These gauges cannot make 3-rail dual gauge with Russian gauge.
- 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Indian gauge
- 1,668 mm(5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge
- 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) Irish gauge
- standard gauge
These gauges are within tolerance.
- 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) Russian gauge
- 1,522 mm (4 ft 11+29⁄32 in) as used by Helsinki Metro[24]
- 1,524 mm (5 ft)
Dual gauge between Russian gauge and another similar gauge can make these bonus gauges.
- 1,829 mm (6 ft)
- 1,945 mm (6 ft 4+9⁄16 in)
- 2,134 mm (7 ft)
- 2,140 mm (7 ft 1⁄4 in) (Brunel gauge)
- 2,503 mm (8 ft 2+1⁄2 in) (the maximum bonus gauge from the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge gauntlet tracks).
Summary
Railways using 1,524 mm gauge
Country/territory | Railway |
---|---|
China | Chinese Eastern Railway (until 1930s); Rail North China (proposed) |
Estonia | Rail transport in Estonia |
Finland | standard gauge (1,435 mm))
|
Iran | Proposed for the south and east of Tehran and the north and east of Estafan. The 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) standard gauge .
|
Isle of Man | Second Falcon Cliff lift (closed 1990)
|
Japan | break-of-gauge facilities between 5 ft (1,524 mm) and 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) in Northern Hokkaido.
|
Norway | Proposed for Kolari-Skibotn-Tromsø and Nikel-Kirkenes-Rovaniemi lines.[25] |
Panama | standard gauge in 2000 to suit off-the-shelf supply.
|
Sweden | Only a small freight yard in Haparanda. Used for exchanging cargo with Finnish trains. |
United States | The South, such as the Cartersville and Van Wert Railroad, the Cherokee Railroad, and the Western & Atlantic Railroad, until 31 May 1886. The Duquesne Incline and Monongahela Incline in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
Railways using 1,520 mm gauge
Country/territory | Railway |
---|---|
Afghanistan | Indian gauge are proposed.
|
Armenia | Armenian Railways, South Caucasus Railway |
Austria | Košice-Vienna broad-gauge line (proposed)
|
Azerbaijan | Azerbaijan Railways |
Belarus | Rail transport in Belarus |
Bulgaria | Only at Varna ferry terminal for train ferries to Odesa and Poti; dual gauge track for changing wagon bogies with standard gauge ones, and parallel transhipping tracks of 1,520 mm and 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge. |
China | Several short stretches from Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. |
France | A short section linking the assembly building to the Guiana Space Center .
|
Georgia | Georgian Railway |
Germany | Only at Baltijsk .
|
Hong Kong | Peak Tram |
Kazakhstan | Kazakhstan Temir Zholy
|
Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz Railways |
Latvia | Rail transport in Latvia |
Lithuania | Rail transport in Lithuania |
Moldova | CFM |
Mongolia | Rail transport in Mongolia |
North Korea | A 32-km stretch of 1,435/1,520 mm Rajin Stations .
|
Poland | Almost exclusively on the Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line .
|
Russia | Russian Railways |
Slovakia | Only on the "Širokorozchodná trať" (Uzhhorod - Maťovce - Haniska pri Košiciach) and from the border station of Dobrá pri Čiernej nad Tisou to Ukraine, both operated by ZSSK Cargo. |
Tajikistan | Indian gauge is proposed for the East.
|
Turkmenistan | Railways in Turkmenistan
|
Ukraine | Ukrainian Railways |
Uzbekistan | Uzbek Railways |
See also
- The Museum of the Moscow Railway
Notes
- ^ Yevpatoria is located in Crimea, a territory disputed between Ukraine (as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea) and Russia (as the Republic of Crimea) since the March 2014 Crimean status referendum.
References
- ^ "Paravoz". Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ "Broad Gauge Track-1520". Russian Railways. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ a b 1520 Strategic Partnership, About gauge 1520 Archived 7 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ "Waggonway & Railway". Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "The Days They Changed the Gauge". Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ S2CID 163934218.
See also Haywood's full-length monographs on this topic,
• The beginnings of railway development in Russia in the reign of Nicholas I, 1835-1842 (1969), Duke University Press, Durham, NC
• Russia enters the railway age, 1842–1855. (1998) East European Monographs, Columbia University Press, Boulder, CO. - ^ JSTOR 213081.
- ^ Lotysz, Slawomir. "Narrowing is easier". Inventing Europe. Contrary to Lotysz's claim that "some railway historians" promote the myth, its only trace in the academic literature appears to be persistent warnings against the folklore. See, e.g., Haywood 1969 or Siddall 1969.
- ^ Luis Jackson, Industrial Commissioner of the Erie Railway. "Rambles in Japan and China." In Railway and Locomotive Engineering Archived 29 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, vol. 26 (March 1913), pp. 91-92
- ISBN 978-1-113-11167-8.
- ^ "Сахалинская узкоколейная железная дорога (The narrow-gauge railways of Sakhalin)". Archived from the original on November 15, 2013.
- ^ "История железных дорог – филиалов ОАО "РЖД"". Russian Railways. (in Russian)
- ^ UK, DVV Media. "Afghan railway ambitions awarded funding". Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ a b c "Historic reference". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ISBN 9515932149
- ^ Estonian railways today Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, p. 32
- ^ "Ratatekniset määräykset ja ohjeet" (PDF). Finnish Rail Administration. p. 56. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-26. Retrieved 9 Feb 2020.
The nominal track gauge on the rail network 1,524 mm. The max tolerance range in lowest quality lines (class 6, max speed 50 km/h) is −7…+20 mm
- ^ "Allegro high speed Pendolino train at Finland station in St Petersburg". Alstom. 7 October 2010. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
- ^ "Rail Gauges". studylib.net. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
- ^ "Construction of Afghan railway launched". Railway Gazette International. 2010-01-27. Archived from the original on 2010-03-03.
- ^ "Megújult a széles nyomtávolságú vágány a záhonyi térségben". Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Russia and North Korea sign deal to complete Khasan-Rajin railway reconstruction". www.railway-technology.com. Verdict Media Limited. 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
- ^ "Tramwaje Warszawskie - rozwój sieci - lata 1990-2006".
- ^ "Perustietoja ja metroasemat" (in Finnish and English). Finnish Railway Society. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ Trellevik, Siri Gulliksen Tømmerbakke From Amund. "Agreement on Arctic Railway Planning and Implementation". www.highnorthnews.com.
External links
- 1520 Strategic Partnership Archived 2009-10-16 at the Wayback Machine www.forum1520.com
- "Railway gauge width : 1 519 / 1 520 / 1 524 / 1 525". www.parovoz.com
- "Traffic between Finland and Russia in 2020 and 2030". 18 March 2013. www.etla.fi