30inch Railways Worldwide

An Introduction to the Development of 750mm, 760mm and 2ft 6in gauge Public RailwayText in englisch In the latter part of the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century 30inch Railways provided the only practical link from many rural areas to the outside world. They could be found across the globe but had particular concentrations in areas as diverse as the USSR, India, Germany, Yugoslavia, China Poland, Japan, Hungary, Austria, Egypt, Argentina, Chile, Taiwan, Brazil, Korea, Bolivia and Romania.More than 35,000km of public 30inch Railways were built. Their main attractions were their ability to follow the landform, with sharp curves and steep gradients, and a resultant relatively low capital cost. This, however, came with drawbacks of low speeds, limited capacities and freight transhipment. These problems made them particularly vulnerable to the rise in road transport.Some 30inch lines do still exist to provide a lifeline for rural areas while a few others offer an intriguing tourist ‘experience‘.This book, the product of many years research, tells the what, why, how and where of these 30inch Railways along with their actual story. The book is illustrated comprehensively with photographs, specially prepared line drawings and maps.