Metre-gauge railways ( US : meter-gauge railways ) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) or 1 metre .
8-494: The Silverton Railroad , now defunct, was an American 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge railroad constructed between Silverton , Colorado and mining districts near Red Mountain Pass , Colorado. The Silverton Railroad is remembered for the innovative solutions to difficult engineering problems presented by the steep, mountainous terrain which were devised by the railroad's chief locating engineer, Charles Wingate Gibbs –
16-635: A spur to a mill at Albany. In 1889, surveying and grading was begun on a branch up the upper Animas River to Eureka . This project became the beginning on the Silverton Northern Railroad . A line was proposed to connect Ironton with Ouray in 1892 which would have been electric-powered and used a rack-and-pinion system to overcome the steep grades of 7%, but the Silver Crash of 1893 prevented further construction. The railroad struggled through market and weather difficulties,
24-560: Is the dominant gauge on the Isle of Man , where it is known as the Manx Standard Gauge . Modern 3 ft gauge railways are most commonly found in isolated mountainous areas, on small islands, or in large-scale amusement parks and theme parks (see table below). This gauge is also popular in model railroading (particularly in G scale ), and model prototypes of these railways have been made by several model train brands around
32-550: The Chattanooga Loop, the depot in a wye at Red Mountain, and a covered turntable on the main track at Corkscrew Gulch – and for the unusual and expensive annual passes presented by the owner, Otto Mears . The Silverton Railroad was the first of several railroad projects by Otto Mears , the famed "Pathfinder of the San Juans". Construction of the line began in 1887 and reached Burro Bridge by early November, when work
40-675: The network in the early 2000s, they were converted to 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) metre gauge . Metre gauge Metre gauge is used in around 95,000 kilometres (59,000 mi) of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and Germany in their colonies. In Europe, large metre-gauge networks remain in use in Switzerland, Spain and many European towns with urban trams , but most metre-gauge local railways in France , Germany and Belgium closed down in
48-591: The world, such as Accucraft Trains (US), Aristo-Craft Trains (US), Bachmann Industries (Hong Kong) , Delton Locomotive Works (US), LGB (Germany) , and PIKO (Germany) . The Ferrocarril de Sóller and the Tranvía de Sóller are located on Majorca in the Balearic Islands . The other railways of the Majorca rail network were also 3 ft ( 914 mm ) gauge, but with expansion and reconstruction of
56-620: Was halted for the winter. The route followed a survey made by the Denver & Rio Grande up Mineral Creek to climb Red Mountain Pass to reach the incredibly rich mining district around Red Mountain Town. Construction resumed and service began the following year, and the line reached Ironton in November. The line reached its greatest extent in September 1889 with the completion from Ironton of
64-618: Was ordered into receivership in 1898 and was sold under foreclosure in 1904. It was reorganized as the Silverton Railroad Company, but was never very successful, and was finally dismantled in 1926. See Links: 3 ft gauge railways Three foot gauge railways have a track gauge of 3 ft ( 914 mm ) or 1 yard . This gauge is a narrow gauge and is generally found throughout North , Central , and South America . In Ireland , many secondary and industrial lines were built to 3 ft gauge, and it
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