3 ft gauge railroads in the United States

Track gauge

By transport mode
Tram · Rapid transit Miniature · Scale model
By size (list)
Minimum   Fifteen inch 381 mm (15 in) Narrow   600 mm, Two foot 597 mm 600 mm 603 mm 610 mm (1 ft  11 1⁄2 in) (1 ft  11 5⁄8 in) (1 ft  11 3⁄4 in) (2 ft)   750 mm, Bosnian, Two foot six inch, 800 mm 750 mm 760 mm 762 mm 800 mm (2 ft  5 1⁄2 in) (2 ft  5 15⁄16 in) (2 ft 6 in) (2 ft  7 1⁄2 in)   Swedish three foot, 900 mm, Three foot 891 mm 900 mm 914 mm (2 ft 11 3⁄32 in) (2 ft  11 7⁄16) (3 ft)   Metre 1,000 mm (3 ft  3 3⁄8 in)   Three foot six inch, Cape, CAP, Kyōki 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)   Four foot six inch 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)   Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft  8 1⁄2 in) Broad   Russian, Five foot 1,520 mm 1,524 mm (4 ft  11 27⁄32 in) (5 ft)   Irish 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)   Iberian 1,668 mm (5 ft  5 21⁄32 in)   Indian 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)   Six foot 1,829 mm (6 ft)   Brunel 2,140 mm (7 ft  1⁄4 in)
Change of gauge
Break-of-gauge · Dual gauge · Conversion (list) · Bogie exchange · Variable gauge
By location
North America · South America · Europe · Australia

Engine No. 1 of the Crooked Creek & Whiskey Island Railroad in Pioneer Park was built in 1899 and is the oldest working locomotive in Alaska.

The defunct Grizzly Flats Railroad in California was a full-size backyard railroad.

A pair of steam locomotives on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in the Colorado Rockies.

The Roger E. Broggie locomotive pulling its open-air sightseeing coaches on the Walt Disney World Railroad.

Preserved train cars of the defunct Oahu Railway and Land Company (note the dual gauge track underneath them).

A Midwest Central Railroad gas-powered switcher locomotive in Iowa.

A line of the defunct Nantucket Central Railroad Company sometime between 1910 and 1917.

A Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad water tower in its yard in New Mexico.

The Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad opened in 1963 at the start of Cedar Point's 94th season.

A geared steam locomotive pulling an excursion train on the Sumpter Valley Railway in Oregon.

A gas-electric doodlebug constructed by the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company of Pennsylvania.

Crewmen in front of a locomotive on the defunct East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad c. 1914.

The Six Flags & Texas Railroad, located in Six Flags Over Texas, is the only remaining attraction from the park's inaugural season in 1961.

A European-themed locomotive built by Crown Metal Products for the Busch Gardens Railway in Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

A list of 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railways in the United States.

Narrow gauge railroads of various sizes existed across the US, especially during the late 1800s, with the most popular gauge being 3 ft gauge.^[1] Some of the more famous 3 ft gauge railroad networks in the US were based in California, Colorado, and Hawaii. These narrow gauge lines were easier to build than standard gauge, and cost significantly less to construct. Some of the lines of these former networks still exist in the present day and continue to use 3 ft gauge track; the rest were either widened to standard gauge or abandoned (see table below).

Installations

See also

• Narrow gauge railroads in the United States
• Heritage railway
• 2 ft gauge railroads in the United States
• 2 ft 6 in gauge railroads in the United States
• 3 ft gauge railways in the United Kingdom
• Three foot six inch gauge railways in the United States
• Three foot gauge locomotives on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
  • D&RGW No. 168 (undergoing full restoration)
  • D&RGW No. 169 (static display)
  • D&RGW No. 223 (undergoing full restoration)
  • D&RGW No. 278 (undergoing cosmetic restoration)
  • D&RGW No. 315 (operational)
  • D&RGW No. 463 (operational)
  • ET&WNC No. 12 (operational)
  • Eureka Locomotive (operational)
  • Glenbrook Locomotive (operational)

References