3 ft 6 in gauge railways
railways with tracks 1067 mm (3′ 6″) apart
Railways with a track gauge of 3 feet 6 inches (1,067 mm) were first constructed as horse-drawn wagonways. The first intercity passenger railway to use the 3 ft 6 in gauge was constructed in Norway by Carl Abraham Pihl. From the mid-nineteenth century, the gauge became widespread in the British Empire. In Africa it became known as the Cape gauge as it was adopted as the standard gauge for the Cape Government Railways in 1873, even though it had already been established in Australia and New Zealand before that. It was adopted as a standard in New Zealand, South Africa, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Queensland (which has the second largest narrow gauge network in the world) in Australia.
There are approximately 112,000 kilometres (70,000 mi) of 1,067 mm gauge track in the world, which are classified as narrow-gauge railways.
History
1795
One of the first railways to use 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge was the Little Eaton Gangway in England, constructed as a horse-drawn wagonway in 1795. Other 3 ft 6 in gauge wagonways in England and Wales were also built in the early nineteenth century.
1809
The Silkstone Waggonway was opened, connecting the Barnsley Canal to collieries including the Huskar Pit.
1860
The Severn and Wye Railway introduces a steam locomotive on its 3 ft 6 in gauge plateway.
The public source identifies “3 ft 6 in gauge railways” as railways with tracks 1067 mm (3′ 6″) apart. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around gauge, railways and tracks.
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