What is the difference between Cape gauge and narrow gauge?


What is the difference between Cape gauge and narrow gauge? Cape gauge is 1067mm wide, because it is narrower than the standard gauge of 1435mm, so it is a kind of “narrow gauge”. It's named Cape Gauge because the former Cape Province of South Africa adopted this gauge in 1873. But the first country to install this gauge was Norway.


What size is the Cape gauge?

In third place comes the so-called ?Cape gauge? with 1,067 mm, or three-and-a-half English feet. Conflicting accounts are given for the history of this gauge as well as its name. On the one hand, the track gauge is said to have been named after the Cape of South Africa, where it was first laid on a large scale.


Why does Japan use narrow gauge?

Clearly, it is safe to assume that Japan's choice of the 3'6 narrow gauge was based more on the cheaper construction cost than on the demands of topography. Norway gradually replaced its narrow gauge track with standard gauge but Japan did not take this road because of economic and military considerations.


What are the three types of railway tracks?

This involves the layout of three main track types: tangent track (straight line), curved track, and track transition curve (also called transition spiral or spiral) which connects between a tangent and a curved track.