Re: Rail gauge

["Bradley Torr" <truenorth@one.net.au.SPAMTRAP>]

Ken Wlliams <knwilliams@optushome.com.au> wrote in article
<QyDR6.4086$l_3.7550@news1.rochd1.qld.optushome.com.au>...
> Sorry to intrude with such a simple question but I need to know the
> different rail gauges used around Australia.

It's not such a simple question! :-)

But I'll try and answer it anyway.

Before Federation, each state chose its own guage - since then, there have
been sporadic attempts to recitfy it with a nationwide standard guage on
main lines.

The state networks were thus:

New South Wales: 4'8.5"
Victoria: 5'3"
Queensland: 3'6"
South Australia: generally 5'3", the isolated Eyre Peninsula system is 3'6"
Western Australia: 3'6", the isolated and privately owned mineral lines in
the Pilbara transporting mineral ore to coastal ports is 4'8.5"
Tasmania: 3'6"

The Northern Territory had an isolated railway from Darwin to Katherine of
3'6", but this line has been disused now for several decades.

Not, around 1913, the Federal Government started building the
Trans-Australia Railway, from Port Augusta SA to Kalgoorlie WA. This was
4'8.5".

Since then, many railways of national importance have been converted, or
made dual guage. These lines have 4'8.5" only, or 4'8.5" alongside that
state's original guage:

Sydney NSW to Melbourne VIC
Melbourne VIC to Adelaide SA via Geelong
Adelaide SA to Port Augusta SA
Port Augusta SA to Alice Springs NT
Port Augusta SA to Perth WA
Broken Hill NSW to Adelaide SA

Early last century, an extension of NSW's 4'8.5" guage was built as far as
Brisbane QLD.

There is now a national 'backbone' of 4'8.5" guage railway stretching from
Brisbane QLD to Perth WA via Sydney, Albury-Wodonga, Melbourne, Geelong,
Adelaide, Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie, with a spur line from Port Augusta
to Alice Springs, and a 'shortcut' from Sydney to Port Augusta via Broken
Hill.

I am sure that there are many others on this newsgroup who can help you
further, and give you other minutiae like dates that lines were opened
branch lines which were converted, etc. etc.

Regards
BT