Irish gauge

Irish gauge (also known as Victorian broad gauge) railways use a track gauge of. It is used in
 * Ireland (2400 km).
 * Australia (4017 km) where it is also known as Broad Gauge.
 * Brazil (4057 km) where it is also known as Bitola larga.
 * Baden, Germany, between 1840 and 1855, by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway, known as Breitspur.
 * Switzerland, until 1854, by the Swiss Northern Railway.

Timeline

 * 600 BCE:The Diolkos (Δίολκος) across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece – a grooved paved trackway – was constructed with an average gauge of 1600 mm.


 * 1840: The Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway was constructed to 1600 mm gauge.


 * 1843: The Board of Trade of the United Kingdom recommended the use of in Ireland, after investigating a dispute caused by diverse gauges in Ireland.


 * 1846: An Act of Parliament, the Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act 1846, made this gauge mandatory on the island of Ireland.


 * 1854–55: The Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway was converted to standard gauge.


 * 1875: First narrow gauge ( in Ireland)


 * 1982: December 5 - The Downpatrick & Ardglass Railway began public operation, the first Irish gauge heritage railway in Ireland.


 * 2009: The 125 km long Oaklands railway line, which runs into New South Wales from Victoria, was converted to standard gauge. The project was relatively easy because the line has wooden sleepers.
 * 200 km of the Albury-Wodonga railway line, Victoria was converted to standard gauge, meaning a double track standard gauge line was created between Seymour and Albury.

Similar gauges
The Pennsylvania trolley gauges ( and ) are similar. There is also, see track gauge in Ireland.

Locomotives
One of the supposed advantages of the broader Irish Gauge, compared to standard gauge, is that the greater space between the wheels allows for bigger cylinders. In practice, Ireland does not have any heavily-loaded or steeply-graded lines that would require especially powerful locomotives. The most powerful steam locomotives on systems of this gauge were:

By comparison a non-articulated standard gauge locomotive in the same country was:
 * Ireland - GSR Class 800 – Tractive effort: 155 kN
 * Victoria - Victorian Railways H class - 245 kN; 23.6t axleload - 1 in 48 grade.
 * NSW D57 class locomotive of 286 kN - 1 in 33 (3.333 %) grades