The long gone Newfoundland RR that so many still hold dear to their hearts was narrow gauge. This narrow gauge operation brought some unique additions costs. While the RR had a bunch of finanical problems there are some (maybe many?) who feel that is the RR had been standard gauge from the start, that would have made enough difference to ‘her’ alive. So for those of us in the forumn that have ‘decent’ knowledge on the Newfoundland RR, what do you think?
Well to be simple about it, I would think the fact that it was on an island isolating the system from the rest doomed it. The PEI railroads were standard gauge but were also killed off.
But I am more of a fan of the Newfoundland RR then any expert.
Gauge would have made no difference, surprised it lasted so long, nostalgia, history, romance, folktales, cutesy-poo songs are all great, but reality steps up and the big dollar takes over. There just isn’t enough population to warrant a railway if no one uses it regardless of how “cute” it is. And don’t feel persecuted living on the "Rock’’ byes, lots of areas with more people than in Newfy have seen their railways disappear, if there was money to be made hauling fish heads back and forth across the island, there would still be railway there. Just as there is no train from Moose Jaw to Elbow now.
LOL @ tatans! 
The CN trackage on Vancouver Island was standard gauge as well, but it was abandoned around the same time as the PEI and Newfoundland railways.
Like a lot of places, a low population density, coupled with not much freight traffic, and long distances to span, is a sure recipe for losing money. But the railroad was needed throughout the first half of the 20th century, since there was no road across the island, and the govt had to continue to subsidize it. Once the Trans-Canada Highway was completed across the island in the 1950’s, bus travel and trucks took away a majority of the little business that there was and quickly spelled the end for the railroad.
Just my take on it.
Regards
Ed
Ed, no doubt what you say was a big part of it. I just wonder if it were standard guage instead of narrow guage would that have made enough difference…probably not.
Having grown up on Vancouver Island and recently visited NL, I can say that I doubt that the gauge would have made any difference. The E&N is having a tough go of it and VI has way more freight traffic than NL does or ever did.
And with one pulp mill (Stephenville) closed down earlier this year, there is even less freight on the Rock to make a railway work.
…unless we build an ocean floor tunnel to link to Nova Scotia and then haul millions of barrels of our newfound oil and or course refined petroleum products that we refine ourselves. 
Same RR could be used to haul all freight and passenger services to/from the island and get rid of the ferries.