Rail Gauge in Ireland (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles The track gauge adopted by the mainline railways in Ireland is 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm). This unusual gauge is currently otherwise found only in the Australian states of Victoria, southern New South Wales (as part of the Victorian rail network) and South Australia (where it was introduced by the Irish railway engineer F. W. Sheilds), and in Brazil. Historically, the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway also used this gauge, between 1840 and 1845 and in the early years of the Canterbury Provincial Railways in New Zealand. The track gauge adopted by the mainline railways in Ireland is 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm). This unusual gauge is currently otherwise found only in the Australian states of Victoria, southern New South Wales (as part of the Victorian rail network) and South Australia (where it was introduced by the Irish railway engineer F. W. Sheilds), and in Brazil. Historically, the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway also used this gauge, between 1840 and 1845 and in the early years of the Canterbury Provincial Railways in New Zealand.Ireland's first railway, the Dublin and Kingstown, was built to the now standard 4 ft 8]1 2 in (1,435 mm).