rogerfarnworth Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Cape Gauge was used in many countries throughout the world. It has been identified primarily with the Cape Colony in South Africa but was used first in the UK on a variety of tramways. Later its use extended into a number of countries in the Far East including New Zealand, Indonesia and in particular Japan. Cape Gauge was chosen as the 'standard gauge' in Japan. This post provides an introduction to the historic railways of Japan. The story includes a variety of different gauges. The use of different gauges seems at least as complex as the situation in the UK. This post is an introduction to the railways of Japan and centres around the use of Cape Gauge. ........ https://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/09/japanese-railway-history-cape-gauge 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Roger, as you’ve identified in your linked article, the claim of Pihl in Norway to have introduced the 3’6” gauge has led to some discussion as to whether “Cape gauge” derives from railways built to that gauge in the British Cape Colony, or actually is a corruption of CAP, the initials of Mr Pihl himself. It amuses me that because of the widespread adoption of metre gauge in India, and subsequent reuse of material and stock from India in other countries, many parts of the British Empire were laid to metre gauge. You’ve mentioned East Africa - which owed much to Indian equipment and labour - but the same could be applied to the adoption of metre gauge in Malaya. In contrast, countries that were never part of the British Empire, notably Japan and the Philippines went for the CAP gauge (sorry!), thanks to British engineers and locomotive manufacturers. Looking forward to more articles on Japan! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 Thank you, Eddie B! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 I hope to produce a short series of short posts over the next little while which look at some of the 2ft 6in track-gauge railway in Japan. This is the first. The Kurobe Gorge Railway is both as tourist railway and a supply line to the hydroelectric power stations along the Kurobe River Gorge. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/30/japanese-narrow-gauge-762mm-lines-part-1-the-kurobe-gorge-railway Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted February 9, 2019 Author Share Posted February 9, 2019 I am wondering whether I have placed this thread correctly? Or has the structure of the forum changed recently? I don't think that I had realised that there was an area in the forum for posting about Railways in Asia. Should I repost in the correct area? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 This is the latest post on this theme .... The Kiso Forest Railways - Part A This next post provides an introduction to the Logging Railways in the Kiso Forest. Only a short tourist railway now remains of what was once a very large system of 762mm lines. I am currently working on a short survey of one of the lines which made up the network. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/02/11/japanese-narrow-gauge-762mm-lines-part-2-the-kiso-railway-part-a Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerfarnworth Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 I will put further posts on a thread in the Railways of Asia board. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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