2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways

Two foot and 600 mm gauge railways are narrow gauge railways with track gauges of and, respectively. Railways with similar, less common track gauges, such as and, are grouped with 2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways.

Overview


Most of these lines are tourist lines, which are often heritage railways or industrial lines, such as the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales and the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado.

World War I trench railways produced the greatest concentration of gauge railways to date. In preparation for World War II, the French Maginot Line and Alpine Line also used gauge railways for supply routes to the fixed border defenses.

Australia has over 4000 km of gauge sugar cane railway networks in the coastal areas of Queensland, which carry more than 30 million tonnes of sugar cane a year.

Many gauge and  gauge railways are used in amusement parks and theme parks worldwide.

Exchange of rolling stock
The interchange of rolling stock between these similar track gauges occasionally occurred; for example, the South African Class NG15 2-8-2 locomotives started their career on the gauge. The Otavi Mining and Railway Company in South West Africa (now Namibia) were transferred to the 2 ft gauge railways in South Africa and currently some surviving locomotives reside in Wales on the gauge Welsh Highland Railway and the  gauge Brecon Mountain Railway.