How hard and costly would regaugeing a narrow gauge line to standard? And how much would it cost?
Historical examples?
I have no idea what actual costs were/are. I would imagine though that most of the costs would be based on effort needed. If one was just laying longer ties on existing graded roadbed, it wouldn’t cost too much. If a new roadbed is needed, either for weight capacity or widening, that’s a whole lot more effort. As a ball park figure, I would guess maybe 10%-20% less than new construction.
Basically, the roadbed has be brought up to par for the new weight and width. Longer ties have to be put in, and new wider trestle bents and bridge piers installed (in most cases). Some bridges might need replacing. Note that all this can be done while still operating as narrow gauge. The ties and ballast are done as track maintenance - may take more supplies and labor than normal, but basically the same procedures.
Examples of easier regauging would be the effort in the South after the Civil War to convert from 5ft to standard gauge. A much more difficult effort was in 1906? when the Southern Pacific converted the 3ft Northwestern Pacific to standard gauge. Both were well-planned efforts with lots of advance work performed so that the actual re-gauging could be done in a matter of hours by a very large work force.
The actual re-gauging you want to do as fast as possible because the railroad is shut down during that time.
The opposite extreme is the D&RG/D&RGW which went the path of operatiing dual gauge track for prolonged periods (years, sometimes decades). The D&RG would decide which section to convert, then widen the roadbed and lay the longer ties as already described. A third rail would be added, and then when ready, replace the narrow gauge rolling stock with standard gauge stuff. The narrow gauge stock would be shuffled off into the more remote regions that were still narrow gauge, or sold to other narrow gauge lines. Then the next section with the most profit potential would be converted
It could be done quite quickly if you have the manpower, especially if the railroad used full-sized ties (as many narrow gauge lines did). IIRC the Milwaukee Road converted it’s former Minnesota Midland 3’ gauge line to standard gauge all in one day in 1903.
p.s. for some reason, the question reminded me of an old joke:
Q. How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb??
A. Only one - but the lightbulb has to want to change. [:P]
In the book The Ma & Pa, Hilton reports that in 1892 the Baltimore and Lehigh signed a $1,500,000 contract to convert to standard gauge from narrow gauge. No details are mentioned but the B&L, a predecessor to the Ma&Pa, was about 77 miles long.
But it didn’t happen then as the line went into receivership and was sold in 2 parts. Later in the decade both parts were widened and eventually remerged together as the Ma&Pa in 1901.
Enjoy
Paul
How many men would it take to redo a 75-100 mile shortline in an isolated area where there are only 5 towns, with a total population of 4500, with that being the only people how live in the area?
also how much might it cost if there is lots of dynamite involved? (blasting out rocks to make larger ledges in a river valley?)
Wow, you picked a really appropriate profile name.
$136,237.83
$136,237.83 for what?
Also, I know someone said in another thread that if a railway was isolated, it might not regauge. If there is no other rail connection, then would a rail way exist past 1925?
If there is no other rail connection, then there is definately no reason for it to bother changing guages.
Survival kinda depends on what the railway does. General freight for the local area? Not a chance. Basically a conveyer on wheels for a large mine or similar? Much better chances.
Yes.
The Florida Sothern Railroad was regauged in 1896 when it became part of the standard-gauge Plant System. The road ran from the Georgia border north of Gainesville to punta Gorda, on the west coast, south of Tampa. A third rail was added to the existing narrow gauge track, then every man woman and child was hired for a 3 day period when they re-gauged essential turnouts and tied everything together. The MOW force then pulled up the narrow gauge rail, and worked on replacing ties when it became neccessary. No idea of cost. Prior to regauging, standard gauge cars had their trucks replaced at the interchange, eliminating the need to trans-load freight.
May I suggest that if you want to run narrow gauge trains on your model railroad layout, then you just run narrow gauge trains on your model railroad layout, instead of trying to coming up with some more or less convoluted back story to “justify” it.
“Back stories” to explain away inconsistencies is mostly a waste of time for everyone involved - they will not convince people who know that your desired trains are unrealistic for the type of railroad you want to run, and they will bore to tears people who do not care.
Just a suggestion. Feel free to ignore it.
Smile,
Stein
The most important factor would be what might be called “relative costs”…that is, if the line involved made enough money that it justified conversion to standard gauge, the railroad would do it. In the example I cited earlier (Milwaukee Road), they regauged the 3’ lines they had in Minnesota because they had enough agricultural traffic to justify it. The lines pretty much stayed the way they were, and in the 1960’s had trains of 40’ boxcars pulled by up to 4 tiny EMD SW1 engines.
However, narrow gauge lines were generally built because the terrain was too rugged to build larger standard gauge lines, or because the cost of building a narrow gauge line was low enough it could be recouped from the traffic involved, but a more expensive standard gauge line couldn’t. So, some operations weren’t worth converting and were abandoned.
Thanks, Stein. [:D] I’ve been trying (subtly) to make the same point in at least a couple of the OP’s threads. [swg]
If one wishes to slavishly follow a particular prototype, they’re free to do so. On the other hand, I see nothing wrong with creating your own “prototype”, but building it in a manner which adheres to prototypical practices, a choice which, in my opinion, would meet the OP’s needs perfectly. Of course, the rest of us are also free to do as we please on our own layouts - I neither recognise nor abide by the authority of the layout police, and rivet-counters who count rivets other than their own are equally unwelcome.
Wayne
The St. Louis Arkansas and Texas Railway (Cotton Belt) reguaged in 1886-87.
“It was decided that when tie replacements were necessary, a longer one would be installed, and the outside spike driven in at the right place in order to save time on the appointed day. Cars and engines were changed, and on , at a pre-arranged hour, traffic was suspended, and the reinforced section gangs completed the change over the northern division in twenty-four hours. The work of changing the gauge on the lines was completed . Changing the gauge cost close to $3 million—a staggering sum in those days. Over 1-1/2 million cross ties were used which cost an average of 29c each (in 1957 the average cost was $3.17 each).” said the Cotton Belt News in October 1957 in the Cotton Belt’s 80th Anniversary Issue.
Google “White Pass standard gauge conversion.” There’s a pdf for a 2002 plan to standard gauge the railroad for new freight service. I just briefly browsed thru this pdf, but recall seeing plans to add a third rail for the freight. The narrow gauge would be kept for the passenger service. I don’t know if this was that plan or a forerunner that anticipated converting all equipment to standard gauge.
I don’t think it was for the entire WP&Y either. As I said I didn’t read the plan that closely but think the estimated cost (in 2002) was for $26 million. I have no idea on the progress or lack thereof for this project.
Jeff
Anyone interested in narrow gauge should have “American Narrow Gauge Railroads” by George W. Hilton. It has a great section on regauging. It has information on all aspects of narrow gauge. Really, I can’t recommend it enough! Here is an Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/American-Narrow-Railroads-George-Hilton/dp/0804723699
Trainobsessed, I think you will like this book. I know my copy is getting a little dog-eared!
- James
I don’t know the cost, but the entire first and second subdivisions (Toledo, OH to Frankfort, IN) (some 430 miles) of the Toledo, St. Louis, & Western RR (later NKP RR, then N&W RR) was converted from narrow gauge to standard gauge in 1887 in one day.