316:. That Act, though, gives only a vague description; a better one is found from John Charles MacKay in the same year: "A light railway is one constructed with lighter rails and structures, running at a slower speed, with poorer accommodation for passengers and less facility for freight. It can be worked with less stringent standards of signalling and safety practice. It is a cheap railway and a second class of railway." These terms are not pejorative, they simply recognise that the standards of main-line heavy railways are not needed in all situations. Their great advantage under UK law was that they avoided the need for an expensive
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From the 1890s, it was recognised that cost savings could also be made in the construction and operation of a standard gauge railway: "light axle-loads and low speeds, not gauge, are the first condition of cheap construction and economical working. Gauge is quite a secondary factor."
454:, originally, "light railway" refers to a railway built or operated under the Light Railways Act enforced in 1909. The act in Japan also though gives only a vague description; the purpose of the act is for building railways easily with less stringent standards and at low cost.
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with the front lines themselves. Some armies have
Divisions of Engineers trained to operate trains. Sometimes they operate a branch line of their own so that they can practise track and bridge building (and demolition) without disturbing trains on the main line.
431:) gauge, and sharing research and development into advanced features such as concrete sleepers, tamping machines, remotely controlled brake vans, and the like. There is little through traffic with mainline railways so that break-of-gauge is not a problem.
219:'s development of steam haulage for narrow gauge railways, the prevailing view was that the gauge should be tailored according to the traffic: "The nearer the machine is apportioned to the work it has to do the cheaper will that work be done."
287:
was introduced in the 1970s to describe a form of urban rail public transportation that has a lower capacity and lower speed than a heavy rail or metro system, but which generally operates in exclusive
344:, made in 1953 as many of the light railways and other small branch lines were being closed. Despite the great public affection for these railways, very few were financially successful. Colonel
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Many industrial railways were built to light railway standards. These may be of light and small construction, although the wagons carrying molten-steel in a steelworks can be several hundred
407:
followed suit with the narrow gauge to reduce costs, though South
Australia ended up with an inefficient two-gauge system which negated some of the supposed cost savings of the narrow gauge.
497:. By the 1970s, most light railways in Japan had been driven out of business by the motor car. Some of the remaining lines survive in passenger service, and others have been restored as
592:
Light railways have been used in several wars, especially before the advent of the combustion engine and motor car. These have often connect depots some distance behind the
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resulted in a brief increase in the importance of these railways, very few lasted beyond the early 1950s. Those that survive today are generally
356:. Nevertheless, most light railways never made much money, and by the 1930s they were being driven out of business by the motor car. Although
327:
The term is also used more generally of any lightly built railway with limited traffic, often controlled locally and running unusual or older
457:
The light railway concept in Japan is therefore similar to the UK and other countries. Many light railways were built for passengers or as
418:
There were a significant number of small and isolated mining and timber railway built to a variety of gauges and improvised standards.
236:
578:) temporary railways in its construction to move vast quantities of soil from the excavations to the dams that were constructed.
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was pivotal in the light railway world, and tried many techniques to make light railways pay, introducing some of the earliest
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which operates under differing rules and may share a road. The term "light railway" is generally used in a positive manner.
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with other states. The cost savings were due to light rails, low axleloads and low speeds as much as due to the gauge.
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built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more
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railway. Most narrow gauge railways operate as light railways, but not all light railways need be narrow gauge. After
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or the processing plants of the Taiwan Sugar
Cooperation for further production to turn the sugarcane to fine sugar.
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now became an important factor, and there was much concern over whether this would become an additional cost for the
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of goods, or whether this was over-emphasised compared to the amount of warehousing and handling needed anyway. The
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costs. These lighter standards allow lower costs of operation, at the price of lower vehicle capacity.
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625:- built by the Royal Engineers in order to train on railway operations on it. It closed in 1969.
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with 30 kg/m (60.5 lb/yd) rails to reduce costs without the need for breaks-of-gauge.
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292:, in contrast with streetcar systems which operate in shared road traffic with automobiles.
389:) in order to make construction of lines lighter and thus cheaper, though this initiated a
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This does not apply to places such as southern Africa, where a system of extremely large
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312:"light railway" refers in its strictest sense to a railway built or operated under the
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has caused an increase in popularity of these light rail systems in recent decades.
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The precise meaning of the term "light railway" varies by geography and context.
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in particular became a good example of a broad gauge main line system with
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There are still a large number of sugar cane tramways built to a common
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Perhaps the most well-known caricature of a light railway is the film
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and also experimenting with a rail lorry built out of an old
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resisted calls to introduce narrow gauge, but did adopt
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before each new line; they only required a much simpler
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rail system, which historically would correspond to a
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is dominant, the term light railway does not imply a
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60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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438:was legally a "tramway", but operated 2,000-ton
723:Tracks Across Continents, Paths Through History
770:. Ashbourne: Moorland Publishing. p. 15.
469:railways in Japan, and in Japan's colonies in
331:. A light railway is properly distinct from a
442:trams which were heavier than most railways.
766:Burton, Anthony; Scott-Morgan, John (1985).
489:. Some light railways were destroyed during
726:. University of Chicago Press. p. 87.
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269:, "light railway" generally refers to an
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
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614:- German and Austrian military railways
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707:Light Railways at Home and Abroad
560:Panama Canal Railway § Gauge
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747:Burton & Scott-Morgan (1985)
528:to the mainline railways of the
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45:needs additional citations for
672:) mainline railways developed.
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629:Central Asian Military railway
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791:MacKay, John Charles (1896).
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618:War Department Light Railways
530:Taiwan Railway Administration
324:within the terms of the Act.
237:many independent narrow gauge
720:Puffert, Douglas J. (2009).
705:Cole, William Henry (1899).
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207:In countries where a single
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510:Taiwanese push car railways
281:network. The distinct term
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341:The Titfield Thunderbolt
247:), light railway feeder
16:Not to be confused with
314:1896 Light Railways Act
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23:For the magazine, see
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233:Irish railway system
54:improve this article
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322:Light Railway Order
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298:higher fuel prices
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294:Urban sprawl
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249:branch lines
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110:October 2015
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52:Please help
47:verification
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550:in weight.
518:762mm gauge
424:610 mm
245:914 mm
179:900 mm
176:, Germany (
174:Mecklenburg
680:References
594:front line
558:See also:
522:sugarcanes
487:Micronesia
463:industrial
375:adopted a
373:Queensland
284:light rail
275:interurban
259:See also:
148:to reduce
80:newspapers
18:Light rail
571:5 ft
479:Manchuria
429:2 ft
368:Australia
279:streetcar
241:3 ft
164:Restored
809:Category
635:See also
607:Feldbahn
514:handcars
483:Sakhalin
459:military
450:Also in
440:iron ore
397:Tasmania
350:railcars
198: in
182: /
524:of the
495:Okinawa
333:tramway
308:In the
265:In the
217:Spooner
193:⁄
138:railway
94:scholar
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554:Panama
548:tonnes
505:Taiwan
471:Taiwan
467:forest
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446:Japan
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