https://hackaday.com/2022/06/23/grain-stuck-in-the-ukraine-the-fragmented-nature-of-modern-day-railways/ Skip to content Logo Hackaday Primary Menu * Home * Blog * Hackaday.io * Tindie * Hackaday Prize * Submit * About * Search for: [ ] [Search] June 25, 2022 Grain Stuck In Ukraine: The Fragmented Nature Of Modern-Day Railways 62 Comments * by: Maya Posch June 23, 2022 * * * * * Title: [Grain Stuck In Ukrai] Copy Short Link: [https://hackaday.com] Copy [1856082341] The war in Ukraine has upset the global food market, and the surprising reason is not that Ukrainian wheat isn't being harvested, but rather that it can't leave the country. With Russia blockading sea ports, the only way out for Ukrainian grain is by train. And this exposes the long-hidden patchwork of railway tracks and train standards: trains can't simply cross the border from Ukraine to Poland on their way to a sea port because the tracks don't match. Even beyond the obvious issues of connecting differently sized physical railway tracks -- the track gauge -- there are different signaling systems, different voltages for electrical trains, different loading and structural gauges, and so on. In Europe today, the political history of the past few hundred years can still be traced back using its railroads, with some parts of the European Union still on 1,520 mm Soviet-standard gauge, rather than the 1,435 mm Standard Gauge, which is also known as Stephenson Gauge, European Gauge, etc. These complications explain why for example with the current war in Ukraine its railways into the rest of Europe aren't used more for transporting grain and other cargo: with Ukraine using 1,520 mm gauge, all cargo has to be transferred to different trains at the Ukraine-EU border or have bogies swapped. Although some variable gauge systems exist, these come with their own set of limitations. In light of this it's not hard to see why standardizing on a single international or even European track gauge is complicated due to having to replace or adapt all tracks and rolling stock, even before considering the aforementioned voltage and signaling differences. All which may lead one to wonder whether we'll ever see a solution to this historically grown problem. Engineering History Minecart from the 16th century with wooden tracks, found in Transylvania. (Credit: LoKiLeCh)Minecart from the 16th century with wooden tracks, found in Transylvania. (Credit: LoKiLeCh) The concept of a trackway is an ancient one, with the Diolkos slipway in Greece being postulated as one of the first ones. Although the exact configuration and presence of grooved tracks is still debated in archaeological circles, Diolkos (Diolkos, from the Greek dia dia, "across", and holkos olkos, "portage machine") was constructed during the 6th century BCE to enable rapid transport of ships across the Isthmus land bridge and remained in use for over five-hundred years, according to historical reports and supported by recent studies of the beachrock, e.g. Saitis et al. (2022). Over the past thousands of years, the use of tracks to guide wagons, carriages and carts along a defined path became ever more common and popular, from mining and transport, to industrial use, with human and animals providing the propulsion. Eventually large-scale track systems for transport would commence with the arrival of the steam engine and subsequent diesel-electric and electric trains that'd define railways as the defining transforming feature of the 19th century and beyond. Unsurprisingly, each railroad company would initially set its own track gauge and other standards, with rolling stock essentially being limited to the tracks of the railroad company that had purchased it. This situation lasted until governments began to enforce a standard gauge, such as with the Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act of 1846 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The No. 1 engine developed by George Stephenson for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, called 'Locomotion'. (Source: Lives of the Engineers, 1862)The No. 1 engine developed by George Stephenson for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, called 'Locomotion'. (Source: Lives of the Engineers, 1862) This act enforced the use of the then most popular track gauge in Great Britain which was the 1,435 mm track that was used by George Stephenson's Stockton and Darlington railway in addition to other railways constructed around that time. Interestingly, this same act also enforced the use of a 1,600 mm gauge standard in Ireland, which is the reason why to this day Ireland and Northern Ireland use this track gauge. This British 1,435 mm standard became adopted as what is known as ' Standard Gauge' today, and would end up being adopted across much of Europe, North America and other parts of the world. Stephenson himself mentioned that he would have liked to have a broader gauge than 1,435 mm, and even today somewhere around forty percent of commercial railways are using another gauge, generally a type of 'broad gauge', as anything wider than standard gauge is referred to. Fixing History Dual gauge track (1520 and 1435 mm) in Lithuania between Mockava and Sestokai, part of "Rail Baltica" (Credit: Gedminas)Dual gauge track (1520 and 1435 mm) in Lithuania between Mockava and Sestokai, part of "Rail Baltica" (Credit: Gedminas) At this point in time, there are eight commonly used track gauges, with standard gauge followed by the Soviet-era 1,520 mm standard at over 15% and Europe featuring also the meter gauge (1,000 mm, Spain and Switzerland), Iberian gauge (1,668 mm, Portugal and Spain), the older 1,524 mm Soviet standard (Estonia, Finland), the aforementioned 1,600 mm gauge in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Only the 1,676 mm gauge standard is not present in Europe. While the obvious way to fix this situation is to either replace all tracks and rolling stock, or to simply accept that international trains are impossible, there are a few intermediate solutions. A common solution is that of dual and mixed gauge tracks, which add one or more additional tracks to match whichever gauges the rolling stock can use. Of course, this still adds significant cost and is only worth it if rolling stock with all of these gauges regularly use the tracks. Gauge changeover of Leon (Credit: INECO)Gauge changeover at Leon (Credit: INECO) Another solution is that of variable gauge, which involves a bogie equipped with axles that can change their track gauge automatically using a gauge changing station that triggers the gauge changing mechanism as the bogie moves through it. This is how trains between Spain and France move between these countries' different rail networks. Limitations here are that no variable gauge system supports more than two gauges, and variable gauge bogies limit the weight that can be placed on them, making them unsuitable for freight traffic. Finally, there is bogie exchange, which involves swapping the bogies of the rolling stock. This is still in limited use for mostly freight trains, but does require the disconnecting and reconnecting of control and other lines, and can take about ten minutes to over an hour per rail car, which is why this approach has lost ground to variable gauge axle systems that do not require such specialist intervention. At this point in time, it's still commonly used for trains between Ukraine and nations like Poland and Romania. No Quick Fix Even though there is a gradual move towards converting all of Europe to standard gauge, this is a slow, arduous process. While for new lines the choice to use 1,435 mm standard gauge is obvious - especially when the rolling stock can use either the old or new gauge as is the case in Spain - not every country has this easy way out. For former USSR nations like Lithuania and others, the 'Rail Baltica' proposal foresees switching from the old Soviet-era tracks to new tracks using standard gauge, which is a massive undertaking that has left many unconvinced. Ukrainian Minister of Finance Oleksandr Kava noted some of the issues related to loading gauge, as rolling stock in Ukraine can be wider than is allowed in the EU outside of Romania and Bulgaria, and axle load is also far higher within the Ukraine than is allowed on EU tracks. This hearkens back to Stephenson's commentary in the 19th century, about the deficiencies of the bureaucratically selected standard gauge, and raises the uncomfortable realization that switching from 'broad gauge' to 'standard gauge' may actually be a downgrade, rather than an improvement. However, much like the proverbial freight train with cut brake lines hurtling ahead with abandon, it seems that at least for Europe the 1,435 mm standard is unstoppable. It'll be used for compatibility sake, regardless of whether it is in fact the best choice. In a similarly pragmatic fashion as when it comes to loading gauge and other aspects that affect international trains, the main priority appears to be to ensure that the trains can travel where they are needed. Fortunately the other compatibility issues like the different electrical voltages used across electrified rail networks are significantly easier to solve. The Easy(ish) Problems Diesel-electric SNCF Class B 82500, capable of working with 1.5 kV DC and 25 kV AC overhead systems.Diesel-electric SNCF Class B 82500, capable of working with 1.5 kV DC and 25 kV AC overhead systems. The electrification of rail networks occurred almost in as haphazard a fashion as the growth of track gauges, but compatibility issues have been essentially solved using multi-system locomotives. These can accept power input from e.g. overhead wiring, with voltages ranging from low voltage (750 V DC in Europe) systems to the multi-kV systems (up to 25 kV AC in Europe) that are in use today. Some of these locomotives are also diesel-electric units which can run on non-electrified tracks. Generally, running such a multi-system locomotive requires no input from the driver, with automatic switch-over between power sources and adaptation to the voltages. Where things get a lot more complicated is with the railway signaling systems, which features different traffic control systems that in the case of e.g. automatic block signaling (ABS) requires that the train's communication systems are compatible with the system, as well as the safety systems that are to prevent accidents in case of human error. Regardless, these are fairly straightforward problems that only affect the rolling stock and can be fairly easy retrofitted into existing locomotives. The Bottlenecks Of Today In an ideal world all of Europe would be using a standard gauge that an engineer like George Stephenson would be happy with, and which would allow Ukraine to move the stored grain from its storage facilities to the EU's harbors with zero complications and building of intermediate storage facilities as suggested in the current proposal. Unfortunately, this is not the world we live in. Despite the generally excellent state of rail networks in Europe relative to many other regions, it bears keeping in mind the flaws and bottlenecks of the current railway system, and to look for ways that we can meaningfully improve on it. Even if generally these flaws are mostly an annoyance due to extra wait times and expenses, sometimes it means that Ukrainian grain becomes painfully stuck behind a gauge break, with the severe consequences which we are seeing this year. [Header and Thumbnail photo: "Train Rail Tracks" by Evan Delshaw.] * [share_face] * [share_twit] * [share_in] * [share_mail] Posted in Current Events, Featured, History, SliderTagged railways, track gauge, variable gauge Post navigation - South Korea's KSLV-2 Rocket Delivers Payloads To Orbit Faux-Retro "Tape" Player Runs On ESP32 And 80s Vibes - 62 thoughts on "Grain Stuck In Ukraine: The Fragmented Nature Of Modern-Day Railways" 1. js290 says: June 23, 2022 at 7:18 am "Every culture that has depended on annual plants for their staple food crops has collapsed." http://bit.ly/1ck0tnM "Folks, This Ain't Normal" Joel Salatin at Wanderlust's Speakeasy - "Grow food not lawns" http://bit.ly/2Cmyk2s Report comment Reply 1. HaHa says: June 23, 2022 at 1:57 pm Either trivially true as every culture has collapsed or not true at all as there are cultures standing now. In any case the video is just some hippie preaching to the credulous choir. Same value as a young earth creationist lecture. Dude doesn't even appreciate the value of grasses. They build topsoil like nothing else. Just a twit. Report comment Reply 2. The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren says: June 23, 2022 at 3:20 pm Except the part of the lawn over the septic drain field. Report comment Reply 2. IIVQ says: June 23, 2022 at 7:22 am The "Iberian gauge" of 1668mm is a 1955 compromise between the older Spanish gauge of 1672mm and the Portuguese gauge of 1664, chosen such that Portugal's trains can run on Spanish tracks but Spanish trains can not invade Portugal -- or so I was told, as the English Wikipedia doesn't mention this trivia. Report comment Reply 1. IIVQ says: June 23, 2022 at 7:31 am An interesting configuration happens in a few places in the world where trains of the same gauge but different car body widths need to coexist on the same track. Such as standard gauge goods trains and (narrower) passenger light rail vehicles that ride on the same track: the wider goods trains would hit the platform so they (or the trams) take an interlaced diversion track to be further away (or closer to) the platform. Another case where this happens is the "double track" Gemmenich Tunnel between Germany and Belgium, which has an interlaced track to allow trains with (overwidth) military convoys to run almost in the middle of the tunnel. Photos at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauntlet_track Report comment Reply 2. Juan Sinmiedo says: June 25, 2022 at 10:40 am Spanish trains usually end up their useful life in India, as they use a similar gauge Report comment Reply 3. Jim Cavera says: June 23, 2022 at 7:33 am And you didn't title the article: "The Grain in Ukraine is Mainly Stuck on Train"???? For Shame. Report comment Reply 1. Paul says: June 23, 2022 at 7:59 am The grain in Ukraine can't leave on a plane? Report comment Reply 1. Jim Cavera says: June 23, 2022 at 8:18 am No. Because a plane from Ukraine couldn't carry enough to Spain. Report comment Reply 1. limroh says: June 23, 2022 at 8:38 am What a pain! Report comment Reply 2. Paul says: June 23, 2022 at 10:37 am It worked for Berlin in 1948. Report comment Reply 3. Cogidubnus Rex says: June 25, 2022 at 1:16 pm A plane from Ukraine have carried plenty enough to Spain if some criminals hadn't destroyed it a few months back.... Report comment Reply 2. That kid says: June 23, 2022 at 10:33 am The grain in Ukraine fills mainly empty trains Report comment Reply 2. Iroquois Pliskin says: June 23, 2022 at 2:28 pm repeat after me: "The grain in Ukraine falls gently down the drain" Report comment Reply 3. The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren says: June 23, 2022 at 3:27 pm We explain why a Ukraine Grain Train would derail on Spain's plains. Or, The passengers will please refrain. Report comment Reply 1. Juan Sinmiedo says: June 25, 2022 at 10:43 am In all fairness, the reason the Ukrainians cannot export by sea is because they mined the access to their own ports fearing a Russian invasion of Odessa. Report comment Reply 4. Stappers says: June 23, 2022 at 7:37 am Yeah, a "works for me" became a "works for us". Then there was the "discovery" the "us" should inclulde the neighbouring countries. Report comment Reply 5. Ostracus says: June 23, 2022 at 7:59 am " All which may lead one to wonder whether we'll ever see a solution to this historically grown problem." Pipeline to market. https://www.farmprogress.com/sorghum/ building-feed-grain-pipeline-throughout-southeast Report comment Reply 1. me says: June 23, 2022 at 6:02 pm I'm going to assume you didn't read TFA. They're talking about a production pipeline for custom sorghum hybrids (a vertically integrated animal fodder company) rather than an actual pipe that moves products. Report comment Reply 1. Ostracus says: June 23, 2022 at 6:46 pm The idea actually is quite old. There's a 1980's link I didn't use. If Ukraine has a preexisting pipeline, they could see about modifying one to deal with this problem. Report comment Reply 1. The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren says: June 23, 2022 at 7:17 pm "Corn don't grow at all on Rocky Top, dirt's too rocky by far, That's why all them folks on Rocky Top drink their corn from a jar!" Report comment Reply 1. Elliot Williams says: June 24, 2022 at 12:22 am Ha! Report comment 6. Graham Travis says: June 23, 2022 at 8:13 am If the grain was put in standard sized 20 or 40ft top-loading containers, then surely its just a question of craning the container from one gauge train to another, or even onto a truck to ferry from a Ukrainian freight yard to a Polish one. After all a container from a Chinese train can be loaded into a ship then offloaded onto a Russian, Spanish, Irish or standard gauge train at its destination. It is what ISO containers are designed for. Sure, it's cheaper and more convenient to pour it into bulk hopper wagons, but that appears not to be an option. Report comment Reply 1. Alexander Wikstrom says: June 23, 2022 at 8:29 am Containers would be a simple solution for this problem. To be fair, top loading might be a bit "unnecessary" since one can just tilt the container and fill it to the brim, and empty it in the same fashion. Though, might overload it in that way... But yes, standardized sized containers fits on practically any track, and being able to take about 25 tons of cargo with each is a lot of grain. But yes, likely not as cheap mode of transport as hopper cars or bulk carrying ship. Report comment Reply 2. hartl says: June 23, 2022 at 10:39 am You cannot do that with normal freight containers that are mostly air- and watertight. Condensed water would promote mold growth and spoil the grains. Besides that, there's still a container shortage in Europe (a side-effect of Covid-19). Report comment Reply 1. HaHa says: June 23, 2022 at 2:02 pm A lot of containers are open/canvas top. But containers for bulk transport goods are simply uneconomical. The real problem is Ukrainian ports are blockaded or occupied and Russia's (bigger grain exporter than Ukraine) exports are sanctioned, so going to China. Report comment Reply 1. Graham Travis says: June 23, 2022 at 2:29 pm True, but even less economical to transfer it from one set of grain wagons to another set that differ only by wheel gauge, or let it rot in silos at a blockaded port. Report comment Reply 1. HaHa says: June 23, 2022 at 3:24 pm Bulk cargo hoppers drain from the bottom onto handling conveyors and load from the top from similar conveyors. Crane operators are well paid. It's not clear that shipping containers would actually be cheaper vs. hoppers. In the end it's all got to go into a silo for the short term. Given the nature of Ukrainians and Russians, you can bet very little will be left to rot. Unless you count fermentation as rotting. They will just add to their respective national strategic vodka reserves (stored in underground salt domes), or bribe the Finns with it. Report comment 7. targetdrone says: June 23, 2022 at 9:33 am "However, much like the proverbial freight train with cut brake lines hurtling ahead with abandon..." That's not how air brakes work... Report comment Reply 1. The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren says: June 23, 2022 at 10:38 am We can thank Westinghouse for that! Report comment Reply 2. J. Samson says: June 23, 2022 at 7:06 pm True, but a proverbial freight train can have whatever kind of proverbial brakes it wants. Report comment Reply 3. Elliot Williams says: June 24, 2022 at 12:24 am You clearly haven't watched enough movies! Or Road Runner cartoons... Report comment Reply 1. The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren says: June 24, 2022 at 12:03 pm B^) Report comment Reply 8. The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren says: June 23, 2022 at 10:37 am IIRC, The Orient Express does a bogie exchange between China and Russia (it might occur in Mongolia) Report comment Reply 1. hartl says: June 23, 2022 at 2:57 pm That's the Beijing branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok. The Orient Express ran from London or Paris to Athens or Istanbul. Report comment Reply 1. The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren says: June 23, 2022 at 7:12 pm (Swallowing a bit of pride) Thanks for the correction. Report comment Reply 9. Andrew Dodd says: June 23, 2022 at 12:08 pm Even ignoring all of this, there's the simple fact that the number of trains to replace a single voyage of a container ship let alone a bulk carrier is simply infeasible. I think someone once did a calculation of what it would take to replace the Suez Canal with trains, I'll roughly rederive it here: The Ever Given has a capacity of just over 20,000 TEU - these have a length of 20 feet An average freight train in the US is now approx. 6800 feet long - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-train-safety/ growing-length-of-u-s-freight-trains-in-federal-crosshairs-after-crashes-gao-idUSKBN1E01B9 6800/20 = 340 TEUs per train OK, maybe they're using well cars and double stacking, so let's make that 680 TEUs per train That's still 29 train runs per single Ever Given Report comment Reply 1. Graham Travis says: June 23, 2022 at 3:03 pm OK, but grain wouldn't be carried on the Ever Given. The most common bulk grain carrier is between 30,000 and 37,000 tonnes capacity. A 20ft bulk container could hold about 35 tonnes, so say 1000 TEU per bulk carrier. Given your figure of 340 TEUs per train (we don't run DSTs in Europe), I make that about 3 US trains, or probably 6-10 European ones. Not very economical, but possible. Report comment Reply 1. Elliot Williams says: June 24, 2022 at 12:38 am What's the relative cost of a run on the Ever Given from the Ukraine to population centers of western Europe? And where would it even go? Odessa on the Black Sea, through Istanbul into the Mediteranean? Land in Venice or Marseille -- and then train again? (Serious question. I can't figure how the "ship it by boat" was working before the blockades.) You can't get an Ever Given up the Donau.... Report comment Reply 1. IIVQ says: June 25, 2022 at 12:44 am Transhipment. You woul have large coasters shipping grain from Odessa (or other ports) to seaports in Europe and Afrika, then smaller river cargo ships that shuttle the grain inland up to ports (or trains, or trucks, whatever method is available). This happened before the grain landed in Odessa anyway: Tractor from field to farmer's or village grain silo, then truck to local cooperative grain silo, then rail (or truck, or ship) to Odessa. The grain silos in big sea harbours aren't there to hold a year's worth of grain, just to hold between shipments. Report comment Reply 2. hartl says: June 25, 2022 at 3:09 pm Exports to Western Europe were by train and ship. As with any other cargo, the cheapest available carrier is chosen. Rail transport is operated by freight companies like Transcereales and PKP Cargo. The larger part of Ukraine's grain exports goes to Africa and other destinations where there's no alternative to a ship. Currently, grains are hauled to the port of Constanta (Romania) for loading. While this workaround cannot provide the needed capacity, it is hoped that partial shipments can prevent destabilization of northern Africa. Report comment Reply 10. Piotrsko says: June 23, 2022 at 12:16 pm We're Murican here. None of that metric stuff, standard gauge is 4 foot 11 1/2 inches. D&RGW had dual wheel eqiupment but only on some of it's 40 ft cars Report comment Reply 1. John Spencer says: June 23, 2022 at 1:36 pm Just to remind everyone that the definition of an inch is 2 .54 cm and not the other way around. Fun, useful and practical as the old system is it has been overtaken by the metric system and will continue to be overtaken. It is not a good idea to ignore what you are not familiar with. Mind you, I still don't know what my shirt collar size is in metric. Report comment Reply 1. The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren says: June 23, 2022 at 3:14 pm I'm not sure what my shirt color is in metric. Report comment Reply 1. Ostracus says: June 23, 2022 at 4:14 pm Whatever it is, "it's complicated" is a valid answer. https://www.shimadzu.com/an/service-support/ technical-support/technical-information/uv-vis/uv-ap/ color/index.html Report comment Reply 1. Elliot Williams says: June 24, 2022 at 12:41 am Color is in your head anyway. Just show me the reflectance curve, please. K, thx. Report comment 2. Paul says: June 23, 2022 at 2:04 pm Must be Murican. Can't use an apostrophe correctly. And even gets the dimensions wrong. American standard railway gauge is the same as Stephenson, 1435 mm. Or, in American Customary Units, 56.5 inches, 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches. Report comment Reply 11. Jeff Faust says: June 23, 2022 at 2:02 pm Reconciling two slightly-different track gauges has sometimes had horrific consequences in the past: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola_Horror Report comment Reply 12. Stuart Longland says: June 23, 2022 at 2:52 pm We've got the same problem here in Australia. Queensland, NSW and Victoria have different gauges. There are some interstate lines, but the bulk of the rolling stock is confined to its home state. As for Ukraine, if Russia keeps trying to destroy the existing rail network (not that I wish this on them or support this in any way), Ukraine may have the opportunity to re-build anew with compatible gauge for trade with its neighbours. Report comment Reply 1. The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren says: June 23, 2022 at 3:17 pm But what is the guage of The Straight? Report comment Reply 13. Miroslav says: June 23, 2022 at 8:38 pm Use trucks. EU can help with this if they are truly interested. Also waterways. Where there is will, there is a way. Report comment Reply 14. Ara says: June 24, 2022 at 12:03 am 1. Ukraine is not a so big wheat producer. https:// leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2022/03/ fact-check-ukraine-does-not-grow-25-percent-of-worlds-wheat.html 2. A neglected railway Ukraine - Romania (Galati), soviet-standard gauge, is on repair. Original romanian language article: https://adevarul.ro/locale/galati/ linia-cale-ferata-larga-ucraina-portul-galati-repusa-circulatie-miza-comerciala-imensa-1_629c5a825163ec427137c834 /index.html Google translate: https://adevarul-ro.translate.goog/ locale/galati/ linia-cale-ferata-larga-ucraina-portul-galati-repusa-circulatie-miza-comerciala-imensa-1_629c5a825163ec427137c834 /index.html?_x_tr_sl=ro&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ro&_x_tr_pto=wapp 3. A joke from these days in Romania: If weapons can come to Ukraine, why the grains can't leave Ukraine? Report comment Reply 1. Humpelstilzchen says: June 24, 2022 at 3:21 am For #3, I wonder why you have it as joke. I wonder the same, so can someone please answer this question? Report comment Reply 1. Graham Travis says: June 25, 2022 at 1:05 pm Economics. Arms are high value, relatively low volume commodities, so can be sent by air to Poland airports, or even safe Ukrainian ones, then onward shipped by truck. Rocket launchers, tanks, troop carriers, etc. are self-propelled, so even easier. Grain is high volume, bulk cargo, so needs low cost transport to make it economical. Report comment Reply 15. Ben says: June 24, 2022 at 1:47 am Regarding the picture of the dual-track railway in Lithuania: * The inner track is definitely less than 1435mm/1520mm * The Rail Baltica project is implemented in normal gauge. * The Rail Baltica has 2/4 tracks So this picture might be something completely different. I guess this is a 1520mm gauge combined with a narrow gauge. Report comment Reply 1. Graham Travis says: June 24, 2022 at 2:21 am The rails aren't paired like that. One gauge is outer left to inner right and the other is outer right to inner left. Report comment Reply 16. Rob Weinstein says: June 24, 2022 at 7:12 am Wikipedia has an article on the Great Gauge Change that occurred in the US in 1886: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_gauge_in_the_United_States# Unification_to_standard_gauge_on_May_31_%E2%80%93_June_1,_1886 In 1886, the southern railroads agreed to coordinate changing gauge on all their tracks. After considerable debate and planning, most of the southern rail network was converted from 5 ft (1,524 mm) gauge to 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm) gauge, then the standard of the Pennsylvania Railroad, over two days beginning on Monday, May 31, 1886. Over a period of 36 hours, tens of thousands of workers pulled the spikes from the west rail of all the broad gauge lines in the South, moved them 3 in (76 mm) east and spiked them back in place. The History Guy has a good video about it too: Report comment Reply 1. The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren says: June 24, 2022 at 12:01 pm Thanks for the link! Report comment Reply 17. CityZen says: June 24, 2022 at 11:44 am For grain, one could imagine a section of track (of 1520mm gauge) on a trestle running over a section of track (of 1435mm gauge) below it. With a full train above and an empty train below, you could just "drop" the grain from one to the other. Whether it's more economical to build this or to just chase the Russians out of the seaports is another matter. Report comment Reply 18. m0lts says: June 25, 2022 at 1:07 am It's a shame the article didn't mention the great change from Brunel's Broad Gauge through mixed gauge to Standard Gauge on the Great Western Railway in the UK. Report comment Reply 19. floehopper says: June 25, 2022 at 10:29 am Jon Worth's [1] CrossBorderRail project [2] aims to highlight missing cross-border rail links in Europe. He's recently embarked on a huge rail and bike journey that crosses every internal border inside the European Union (and EFTA countries) that you can cross by train. En route he's stopping off to organise a meeting in the political capital of each country to discuss the missing rail links with local activists. [1]: https://twitter.com/jonworth [2]: https://crossborderrail.trainsforeurope.eu/ Report comment Reply 20. Old Alan says: June 25, 2022 at 3:25 pm The recently opened Elizabeth Line in London operates, I understand, on 3 different signalling systems, as it shares some track with other (same-guage) systems. Change is effected automatically. Report comment Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply Please be kind and respectful to help make the comments section excellent. (Comment Policy) This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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