Irish Railways.

The track gauge adopted by the mainline railways of Ireland is 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in). This unusual gauge is 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. Shields), and in Brazil.

The first three railways had lines of three different gauges: the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm); the Ulster Railway, 6 ft 2 in (1880 mm); and the Dublin and Drogheda Railway, 5 ft 2 in (1575 mm). The Board of Trade, recognizing the complete chaos that would ensue appointed one of their officials to consider the matter. He came to the conclusion that the widest Brunel's 7'0 1/4" and narrowest Stephenson's 4'8½" should be eliminated. And that a gauge of 5' 3" (1600 mm) should be adopted. The Ulster Railway was altered around 1846, and that of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway in 1857, it is said the alteration costing the latter company in the region of £38,000.

About two years ago in 2004 Northern Ireland Railways brought from England a state of the art line maintenance truck, this is equipped with massive generators enabling it to butt weld track. It can travel on the road then be positioned over the track where its railway wheel descend enabling it to propel its self along the track. On arrival in Ireland steel spacers had to be fitted to it's wheels by a local engineering company, to change them from the narrower English gauge.

Many narrow gauge systems were built for industrial purposes these were usually 3 feet (914 mm) most of these have passed into history, one such built by the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee, was in its time the largest narrow gauge system in the British Isles. Today narrow gauge railways survive as heritage attractions, these were mostly used to transport peat from Irelands bogs. Bord na Móna still to the best of my knowledge narrow gauge railways in the Bog of Allen in the midlands while in County Donegal. they have 1200 miles of 3 ft track, which is said to carry up to five million tons annually.

The Clonmacnoise & West Offaly Railway operate a narrow gauge railway, where you can ride the carriages and learn about the formation of the peat and its extraction. Another in Northern Ireland is the Sunshine Peat Company on the southern shores of Lough Neagh, which operates in a similar way. Also in County Leitrim the Cavan And Leitrim Railway society tell the story of their local railway which was closed in 1959.

On January 1, 1925 all the railways within the Republic were combined, into the Great Southern Railways, which, in 1935, operated 2,157 miles of 5 ft. 3 in. track. The Great Northern Railway, which operated on both sides of the border, had a total of 562 miles of track, of which 332 miles, were in Northern Ireland; The Northern Counties Committee ( London Midland and Scottish Railway ), which operates in Northern Ireland, has 201 miles of 5 ft. 3 in. track and sixty-four miles of 3 ft. gauge.

During the first world war of 1914-18, English rolling-stock was requisitioned for used in France, the Irish stock could not be because of the difference. Other countries using a gauge of 5 ft. 3 in. are in the States of Victoria in South Australia, and in Brazil, mainly because Irish engineers were employed in constructing these railway systems. See also the chronology of Irish Railways.