Australian broad gauge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dual gauge tracks in Wallaroo, South Australia. The outer rail on the right is for Australia Broad Gauge (still in use by an occasional tourist train), the inner rail is for standard gauge (discontinuous further along the line, and disused)

Australian broad gauge is the principal railway gauge of 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) used by the railway network of the Australian state of Victoria. It is also used on on railway lines in South Australia, Victorian built lines in southern New South Wales, and a single line in Tasmania.

In origin, it is the Irish standard gauge as introduced to Australia by the Irish-born chief engineer of the Sydney Railway Company in New South Wales, F.W. Shields. When the state of Victoria began developing railways it received instructions from the British Colonial Office in London to build them to the same gauge as those in New South Wales. Unfortunately, and with long-lasting consequences for the railways of Australia, New South Wales failed to inform Victoria (and South Australia) that in the meantime Shields had resigned from the Sydney company and been replaced by a Scot, James Wallace, who overturned his predecessor's advice and ordered that all construction should be at the British standard gauge of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in).^[1]

Australia's first railway was a 2½ mile (4 km) Victorian broad gauge line, opened in September 1854 between the Melbourne (or City) Terminus (on the site of Flinders Street Station) and Sandridge (now Port Melbourne). In 1987, the Port Melbourne railway line was closed, and replaced by a standard gauge light rail service, tram route #111, which ran from Port Melbourne to Exhibition Buildings (later replaced with tram route #109, which runs to Box Hill via the city).

As Victoria used a different gauge from New South Wales passengers were required to change trains at Albury. Limited Standard gauge railways now connect Melbourne with Sydney and Adelaide. The adoption of different railway gauges in Australia was a cause for arguments in the leadup to the Federation of Australia, and is still causing difficulties in funding and decision-making today.

[edit] See also

• Broad gauge

[edit] References

• Websterworld, "To Constitute a Nation" page 4, accessed on 19 April 2006

v • d • e Rail transport in Australia By state New South Wales • Victoria • Queensland • South Australia • Western Australia • Tasmania By capital Sydney • Melbourne • Brisbane • Adelaide • Perth Stations Sydney • Melbourne and Victoria • Brisbane and South East Queensland • Adelaide • Perth Misc History • Narrow gauge • Broad gauge • Railway companies • Former companies • Former government authorities

This article related to rail transport in Victoria is a stub. You can help by expanding it.