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The use of broadgauge was adopted by Ireland, India, East Europe and Russia due to the influence by the British Empire. Whilst the UK had converted to 1435mm ma
by mrlonglong 5y ago
The use of broadgauge was adopted by Ireland, India, East Europe and Russia due to the influence by the British Empire. Whilst the UK had converted to 1435mm many years ago, there are still countries with broadgauge. The US never adopted broadgauge.
- alricb 5y agoThe 5-foot gauge used in Russia is much narrower than Brunel's 7-foot gauge, and only 85 mm wider than standard gauge. 5-foot gauge was actually used a fair bit in the South until May 30 and June 1, 1886, when they converted to 4'9" gauge.
- mrlonglong 5y agoOh you're quite right, I mixed up my gauges, I hadn't realised broadgauge was 7 foot !
- talideon 5y agoCorrections: Ireland didn't adopt 5'3" gauge - that would imply an Irish parliament was involved, and the Act of Union was in 1801. That gauge was adopted in the Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act 1846 by the British government, and that act is also what introduced standard gauge is Great Britain. Admittedly, the recommendation that Ireland use 5'3" gauge was made by the Board of Trade in 1843, but it wasn't law until 1846.
- bobthepanda 5y agoThis isn't quite true. Some railroads in the Southern US adopted 5 ft broad gauge, same as Russia. This turned out to be a major disadvantage during the American Civil War because non-standard gauges made logistics more difficult. American broad gauge was eliminated in 1886.