WW Listing 2foot RR U-V

Bookmarks within page will be slowly repaired, a Microsoft program thoughtfully rewrote them all for me!

Every attempt is made to have accurate and complete information. This list will never be 100% complete, as there were so many small railways around the world. If you can add or correct erroneous information please e-mail Bill Kerr. Any help in creating this list will be appreciated.

My thanks to David Meller who keeps me updated on much of th information on the Ukraine.

· Iwacewicze - Janow Polski - Kamien Koszyrski - 600mm - military then common carrier - closed -Built by German army in 1916. From a sg connection at Iwacewicze it ran south to another sg connection at Janow, and then continued south via Lubieszow to a third sg connection at Kamien Koszyrski. There appears to have been a further line south from Kamien K. to another sg connection at Hrywiatki, as well as several branches including one to Telechany; Lubieszow itself was served by a branch from Mijanka Lubieszow. PKP took over 141km on the Iwacewicze - Janow section, and 165km on the Janow - Kamien K section. Kamien K. - Hrywiatki was cut back to 32km of lines and sidings serving industrial/forestry purposes. The 1930s PKP timetable map shows Iwacewicze - Sw. Wola - Telechany (45km), Janow - Sw. Wola (64km) and Janow - Kamien K. (100km, including the branch to Lubieszow Miasto). The line was used for military purposes again in WW2, and was shown on a map in 1944. The Belarus/Ukraine border now cuts through the area south of Janow. source David Meller 2004/6 (PKP Polish State Railways, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine were part of Poland between the wars)

Industrial Railway Society The Industrial Railway Society was founded in 1949 as the Birmingham Locomotive Club - Industrial Locomotive Information Section. The Society is the leading organization in the United Kingdom devoted to the study of all aspects, and all gauges, of privately owned industrial railways and locomotives, both at home and overseas. Collieries, opencast coal pits, steel works, gas works, peat bogs, Ministry of Defence depots, engineering works, docks, electric power stations, etc., are all covered by the Society. Also details of various railway preservation groups and their locomotives, etc.

Narrow Gauge Pleasure by Nick Lewis This site is devoted to The British Narrow Gauge Railways and what makes them worth visiting.

British Overseas Railways Historical Trust Their aim "To promote the study of the history of railways in the Commonwealth (excluding the UK)." You will find their publications of interest.

NGRR Lines has extensive listing of narrow gauge railroads in the US, Mexico, Canada

Society of the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources Not two foot, but interesting narrow gauge information. The purpose of this group shall be to locate, preserve, restore and interpret the products of the first industry of the City of Newark, Carter Brothers, for the historical and educational benefit of the general public. To accomplish this purpose, the SPCRR will support a program of research and restoration of Carter Brothers' railroad artifacts, including collections of photographs, documents, drawings, and physical remains of railroad cars and equipment that represent the era, the locale, and the uses which applied to Carter equipment, or related equipment, including other railroad builders who had a significant influence or impact upon the operation of the South Pacific Coast Railroad. The SPCRR will seek to provide an interpretive and operational context in which Carter equipment, skills and practices will be viewed by the public as they were actually used.

Web Union Station -Web Union Station is a comprehensive listing of tourist and passenger excursion railroads, railroad museums and displays, and other railroad attractions in North America

· Belle Alliance Plantation Railroad (LA) 2' Farm 1898 1949 20 miles [Tb] {Bu} source

Alabama - US

Arkansas - US

California - US

Colorado - US

· The Cripple Creek and Victor - 2' - museum and attraction on the roadbed of the old three-foot gauge Florence and Cripple Creek RR.

· Gilpin Tramway - 2' - industrial - was started in 1887 and extended about 26 miles from Blackhawk through Chase Gulch to Central City, up to Nevadaville and then through Russell Gulch to Pleasant Valley. It was built by Andrew Rogers and his associates to haul ore down to the refineries and the railhead in Blackhawk. source

· Cie des Phosphates de Franco - 23.75" (60cm) - industrial - closed - mined phosphate, located at Luraville. Not sure if the same company ran a 60cm train at Citra, that was later moved to a two mile branch line built from Densler Jct. (just east of Luraville) to the Phosphate Mills Taplines

· Florida Ry - 2' - industrial/branchline - 1915-1923/24 -The Suwannee Phosphate Co. was looking over the old French and Mutual phosphate mines near Luraville during January of 1915. Convinced that the mines could be worked and needing a good railroad to haul out the rock, the company begin talks with the Florida Ry. As the old Luraville branch has been idled for a year and in bad shape, Frank Drew draws up plans to build a new railroad from near Wilmarth to the mines bypassing the troublesome spring slough that constantly tears up the old Luraville branch. An amendment to the charter was issued in June of 1915 which outline a new railroad to run from near Wilmarth northwest to a point near the Suwannee, north of Luraville. Another line would run east to McAlpin on the Coast Line. Take a look at the drawings for a planned steel twofoot boxcar! source

· Florida Ry- 2'- common carrier - late 1800-1915 - Operated from Live Oak-Mayo-Perry in the late 1800's and into the 1900's. It was the first road to tie Jacksonville's industry via the Seaboard at Live Oak, to the rich timber region of Perry. It operated a classy train of vestibule wooden cars, varnished to the max, called the Suwannee River Special. Just as things looked like it would become a fixture, the Live Oak, Perry and Gulf RR built an identical route just a few miles above the FLRY and reached Mayo via a branch line. The LOP&G enjoyed the investment of the Seaboard Air Line RR from Live Oak to Jacksonville and suddenly all freight off the FLRY was embargoed! By the time the courts found in favor of the FLRY the company was ruined.

Then a sudden burst of life! The old rock mines were reopened at Lauraville. This was close to the FLRY being just northeast of Mayo and across the Suwanee River. Being in financial ruin, the company begged and scrambled to tie it all together. They purchased a pair of teacup shay locomotives that were of 2' gauge! A batch of tiny cars followed including at least a few box, flat and passenger cars. A mini railroad was run about 9 miles south along the east side of the river to the Florida railroads mainline. At that point, called Wilmarth (only a trace of the grades remain here) transfer platforms were constructed to move people and goods to and from the big cars. Don't confuse this with another earlier FLRY which ran from Lauraville to Live Oak. It was long gone by this time, its locomotive in the Suwannee where it ran off the pier (until the 1980's when it was pulled out and now sits in Tallahassee in front of Forestry Building?) The tiny railroad ran through the woods a few hundred yards east from Peacock Springs all of which is accessible and yielded confederatebob a 3" long spike! No one seems to know what became of the tiny equipment, some say it is still in the woods or buried in the old quarries. The whole project was too late to save the company and lasted from about 1915-23or24. NOTE: The folks in Lauraville are VERY FRIENDLY and willing to help but be forewarned they don't know the narrow gauge from the old broad gauge right-of-way but its very easy to tell. Also IF one gets into the quarry you WILL encounter more rattlesnakes then you can imagine. The area traversed by the old narrow gauge is so scenic the State has purchased great amounts of the route for a state park. There are tiny villages, rock and moss covered rock outcroppings as well as woods, hills, quarries, and the grand ol Suwannee River (which by the way still contained the grand old FLRY swing bridge as of about 1990, left open for nearly a century for the passage of Steamboats)source - Jim ("confederatebob") posting on narrowgaugeexpress Yahoo group

· Chicago Tunnel Company Railroad - 2'- 60-mile, formerly Illinois Tunnel Company two-foot gauge electric railroad that operated 149 locomotives and over 3000 freight cars in small tunnels forty feet below the streets of downtown Chicago source

· La Porte County Historical Steam Society, Inc. (The Hesston Steam Show) - 2' & 3' - museum - open -

· Illinois Tunnel Company - 2'- ( later known as the Chicago Tunnel Company) started operating trains through the freight tunnels in 1906. The small four wheel electric locomotives hauled pony freight cars between stores, office buildings, post office facilities, warehouses, factories, and railroad stations. The tiny cars carried packages, goods, mail, food, coal, cinders, and occasionally people! source

Indiana - US

· La Porte County Historical Steam Society, Inc. (Hesston Steam Show) - dual gauge 2'/3' - tourist - open -

Iowa - US

Maine - US

General Information

MaineTwofooters A list for the discussion of two foot gauge railways in Maine. Railroads include the Kennebec Central, Monson, Bridgton & Harrison, Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington and the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes. Subscribe to MaineTwoFooters

MaineOn2FAQ - links are too prototype answers regarding R-O-W equipment, any reference to modeling will be to O (1:48) scale

Denver Rails -Railroad Attraction Database, interesting site with extensive database, pull down menus let you search for 24" gauge railway attractions

Delaware Archives - Jackson & Sharp Company - builder passenger cars, built a number of the Maine twofooters KC #coach #11

Moody Collection held by the Degolyer Collection at Southern Methodist University. I have not confirmed this, but the Degolyer has an extensive collection regarding US railroad, it was a link I bookmarked some time ago, when someone reported that this is where the Moody archives were. The Everette Lee DeGolyer, Jr. Railroad Photographs encompass 15 filing cabinets of photographs and film negatives on most railroads in the U.S. The collection is arranged alphabetically by name of railroad and further subdivided by locomotive number or car type

Maine Society of Land Surveyors Franklin County lists several maps that contain railway information

Location: From Carry Pond at Seboomook Lake to the Outlet of Carry Brook at Moosehead Lake, Maine with approximately 14 miles of mainline. Equipment: One 0-4-0ST locomotive, a dozen flat cars and a number of log bunks built by Portland Co. Owners: Boyd-Harvey Lumber Company. Built 1911 and 1912. Operated 5 years by Boyd-Harvey and 2 years by the U.S.R.A. (ostensibly for tie productions), in 1917, 1918. Purpose: To transport logs and cedar ties cut at the Penobscot watershed over to Moosehead Lake. Sawmill located at woods end of sluiceway in which cedar logs were cut into RR ties and shipped out over sluiceway and ties traveled ¾ mile from Carry Brook to Moosehead Lake via the sluiceway which the cars emptied in to. Dismantled 1918-1919 by John E. Lamb of Rockwood, Maine. Personnel taken out by steam boat “Moosehead” of the Coburn Steamboat Company. Mill and railroad equipment was removed via the scow hauled by the steam boat “Violet” and unloaded at Maine Central Railroad’s Kineo Station. The engine was stored at Kineo for three years and then to places unknown. Six flat cars were dropped at Greenville Jct. from the Lamb Scow and shipped over the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad to the Monson Railroad. No info on disposition of other equipment. source Short & Narrow Rails (The Narrow Gauge & Short Line Historical Society) Vol. I, Issue 3 dated Jan. 7, 1976 Bob Schlechter, L.B. Walker stated info was contained in P.U.C. reports of 1918 and not in the annual commissioners reports. Note there were corrections published in a later issue. Posted by Chris Coyle on M2FQ Yahoo list 12/2004

The following information I quote from Alfred Geer Hempstead’s 1975 book “The Penobscot Boom and the Development of the West Branch of the Penobscot River for Log Driving.” This is a great book for anyone interested in Maine logging history and it contains a fair amount of information on Maine logging railroads although this is the only 2-foot gauge line. I do note some date discrepancies with the earlier information I posted from Bill Jensen’s newsletter.

“In 1914, a narrow gauge railroad was built from Carry Pond to the mouth of Carry Brook for the purpose of hauling railroad ties cut on the Penobscot Watershed into Moosehead Lake. This was built and operated for two years by the Boyd Harvey Company. In the fall of 1916, John E. Lamb, of Rockwood, took up the steel rails and moved them, together with the locomotive, cars, and all other equipment, to Kineo Station. Mr. Lamb loaded this equipment on the scows and by means of his steamboat, the “Violet”, towed it down the lake.”

“In concluding this story of attempts to convey logs from the Penobscot River to Kennebec waters, mention should be made of the standard gauge railroad track laid in 1921 by the Great Northern Paper Company from Seboomook Wharf to Carry Pond. This was used to transport the rolling stock of the Seboomook Lake and St. John Railroad from Moosehead Lake to Carry Pond enroute its own railroad.” source - Chris Coyle M2FQ Yahoo list 2004/12/25

· Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum - 2' - tourist line/museum - Portland - collection of Monson, SR&RL, WW&F equipment that was collected by Ellis Atwood, used at Edaville before being purchased by MNGRR

· Sandy River Railroad Company - 2' - incorporated 1879 although construction started in 1878. Built from Farmington to Strong to Phillips, interchanging with the Maine Central RR standard gauge in Farmington. Part of consolidation of SR&RLRR in 1908 by Sandy River, F&M and P&R. The Eustis became part of the system in 1911.

· Sandy River Valley Railroad Company – 2’ – never built 1878 - preliminary organization that started the investigation for a two foot railroad. Paid for the first “Appleton” survey. Upon receiving charter, named was changed to Sandy River Railroad Company.

· S D Warren Paper Mill - 2' - logging - closed - Log 1874 1930 35 miles [Tb]

· Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington Railway Company - 2' - closed - 1907-1940, museum now operates in Alna source

· Wiscasset & Moosehead Lake Railroad Company - no gauge indicated - never built - inherited charter of Kennebec & Wiscasset Railroad Company1873 - 1876 which was transferred to Wiscasset & Quebec Railroad Company in 1876 WW&F Museum

Maryland - US

· Asarco - 21 1/2" outside rail measurement - smelter - closed before 1978 - located in Copper rolling/casting operation in Canton section of Baltimore MD. Unique in that the wheel flanges ran on the outside of the track. Gauge of 21 1/2" was measured to the outside of the rails. Complex covered several city blocks and serviced about a dozen buildings and ran to the docks. Had 7 locomotives and about 1000 cars. source W. Bernard Randolph article in Light and Iron Industrial Railway Quarterly Vol 2 pg3

Massachusetts - US

· Billerica & Bedford - George Mansfield succeeded in convincing the authorities of Billerica that a railroad built upon two-foot gauge was an ideal way to unite their town with the outside world. Proposed was an 8.63-mile rail line between the Boston & Lowell's station in North Billerica and the Middlesex Central's Bedford Station to the south. B&B Historical site

· Cedarville Railroad - 2' - private - open? - private railroad in Ashland, MA. This 2 foot gauge railroad has a few hundred feet of track with plans for more, The Cedarville Railroad official site

· Pleasure Island & Western RR (Old Smokey Line) - 2' - park - closed 1969 - Pleasure Island Park, Wakefield, Ma , was using borrowed equipment from Edaville, Monson #3 and loco from Louisiana sugar plantations #5, which is now at WW&F Museum being rebuilt as #10.

· Silver City, Pinos Altos & Mogollon Railroad (Commanchee Mining & Smelting Co) - 2' - source

· Laurel River & Hot Springs Railroad Company - 2' - common carrier - closed - (NC) 2' Gen 1892 1893 3 miles [E/G/T] {H} source

· Kizer (E.F.) Company Railroad - 2' - logging - closed? - (PA) 2' Log 4 miles [Tsu] source

· Remlinger Farms Railroad - 2' -tourist - open - Steam powered, 2 ft. gauge park railroad. source

Uruguay thank you Jorge Garreta Mendoza for much of the information provided

Historians of several countries could have identified about 80 narrow-gauge locomotives (from 500 mm to 3 feet) which worked in Uruguay, although surely should have existed more than 120. Apart from some, all the stock was ordered from Germany. The 0-4-0T of 600-mm gauge of track was the favored type. Two were 0-8-0T wheel arrangement, an unusual type for a 600-mm gauge in South America. source

Railway Studies Circle of Uruguay The "Círculo de Estudios Ferroviarios del Uruguay", CEFU, (Railway Studies Circle of Uruguay) is a railway enthusiasts institution, started on August 16, 1986. The CEFU has a railway museum, two British-built engines in working order and others set aside for museum purposes. The Club is also engaged in the preservation of rolling stock and railway equipment, and keeps several historic coaches and freight wagons.

· Indare Sand Quarries Co. - 600mm - industrial now tourist line - railway to access sand quarries, operation is closed, but small tourist line is now operating.

Concerning Venezuela. The old rail system until the 1950's was a patchwork of short and long lines spread over the whole North of the country. The longest journeys ever available have been from Caracas to Barquisimeto and Tucacas in the Centro-Oeste. Before construction of todays standard gauge lines, the country had 4 different gauges: 1067, 1000, 914 and 610 mm on public railways. The following companies operated from 1877 to 1942 until 1937 to 1967:
   Company                            Length      Gauge    Bridges and Viaducts Tunnels
Gran Ferrocarril de Venezuela       178.9 km    1067 mm   219 86    (Caracas-Valencia)1894-1967
Ferrocarril Central                  83   km    1067 mm   75 14    open ????-????
Ferrocarril El Palito-Palma Sola     55   km    1067 mm   19        (**) 1942-1957
Ferrocarril Sta. Bárbara-El Vigía    60   km    1000 mm   15                in the far West of the country1909-1937
Ferrocarril La Guaíra-Caracas        36.65 km    914 mm   15 8,   later electrified, partly rack railway,North of Caracas open 1880-1951
Ferrocarril Puerto Cabello-Valencia 54.75km    1067 mm   33 1    Pto.Cabello-Valencia 1888-1957
Ferrocarril Bolívar                 218.8 km     610 mm   518      (Tucacas-Barquisimeto ++) 1877-1954
Ferrocarril del Táchira 120 km 1000 mm n/a a/a location unknown

(**) lines El Palito (Southwest of Puerto Cabello) to Palma Sola, Palma Sola to San Felipe
++ Main line Tucacas-Barquisimeto and branches El Hacha-Palma Sola and El Hacha-Aroa

There are some lines which company name is not known there are Guanta-Barcelona-Naricual 36 km 1892-1940 narrow gauge replaced by standard gauge in 1957 and later closed to all traffic, may be rehabiltated as a suburban line for Barcelona (but the new line enters not the city)
Motatán-Sabana de Mendoza-La Ceiba, in the West of the country, 81 km at all, in operation 1888 to 1947 gauge unknown
Carenero-Rio Chico on the North Coast East of Caracas, 54,4 km in operation 1899-1954 source Peter Horn posted to ClasSig Yahoo group 2004/11/4, his source not given

Asian Railways Page (Kurogane No Michi ) railfan Eiji Nozawa personal webpage on Asian railways, very nice collection of photographs, no two foot pictures posted yet