Light Railway
Light Railway (mutatis mutandis Light Railway ) is the English-speaking world a classifying term for Railroads mostly regional importance, which were built at a lower cost than typical routes of international or regional railway companies. Tighter curves, larger gradients and lower permissible axle loads compared to mainline railways allow only lower speeds and smaller transport volumes, but cheaper operation. The transition to field and industrial railways is fluid. Light railways are thus similar to the small railways or local railways in the German-speaking area.
Synonymous, but different in meaning from the British term light railway, is the abbreviated term light rail , which has been used especially since the 1980s and which arose with the modernization of tram-type means of transport in the USA and was subsequently translated into other languages, albeit from land assumed different meanings in different countries .
origin
The term Light Railway goes back to various railway regulations in the United Kingdom in the 19th century.
The term light railway was first used in the British An Act to amend the Law relating to Railways 1868. Here the earliest definition and physical determinations were formulated. According to this, a railway was to be designated as such if it did not exceed an axle load of 8 British tons and a travel speed of up to 25 English miles per hour ( mph ).
Another law followed in 1896. The Light Railways Act of British Parliament allowed the facilitated approval of railway lines for passenger and freight transport as so-called Light Railways , which for this no separate Act of Parliament was necessary, but an approval by the Board of Trade used Commission. However, the law does not give a precise explanation of the term. JC Mackay defined Light Railways in 1896 as follows: "... built with lighter rails and engineering structures, traveling at lower speeds, with easier passenger accommodation and fewer facilities for goods. It can be operated with less stringent requirements for signaling and safety equipment. They is a cheap railroad and a second class railroad. "
The law of 1896 initially only applied to England, Wales and Scotland. It was added in 1912. Regulations for Ireland and Australia followed a few years later.
Application of the regulations
A special gauge was not required for light railways . It was initially assumed that the gauge should be adapted to the traffic, but then it was recognized that using the standard gauge could save effort and costs by reducing the effort required for reloading when changing gauges and making it easier to expand a standard gauge light railway Were considered. While most of the light railways in England were built in standard gauge, there were numerous narrow-gauge feeder lines in Ireland.
The first railway to be built under the rules of the Light Railways Act was the Corringham Light Railway , which opened in 1901 . Opened in 1925, the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway was the last newly built light railway.
Most of the light railways were barely profitable, although various measures were taken to improve profitability, including the use of railcars and rail buses . With the increase in road traffic after the First World War, they lost their basis for business. Since the 1930s, more and more light railways have been shut down. The Second World War led to a brief increase in the importance of these railways, but only a few survived the 1950s. The light railways that still exist today are used for tourist or museum purposes.
.jpg)
In addition to routes that were designed as light railways from the start, there were those that were built on a different legal basis and operated as light railways at a later date. The first of these railways was the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway (WCPR) in southwest England's County Somerset, which opened two years earlier in 1899 .
Also the Heart of Wales Line ( Welsh Rheilffordd Calon Cymru ) was operated after the reopening in 1972 according to the Light Railway Order.
Since the 1980s, the British Secretary of State for Transport has issued new regulations based on the Light Railways Act for several railways. This led to the situation that both light railways and light rail systems exist in Great Britain , the latter for example in London and Manchester. The London Docklands Light Railway carries the name Light Railway , but it is a light rail system of a more recent definition.
Light Railways outside the UK
The historic light railway is very similar to the small or local railways in German-speaking countries. Here Prussia was the first to regulate railway construction in 1892 with the law on small railways and private connecting railways . According to Prussian legislation, these routes to be approved could only be used for traffic between two adjacent Prussian manor or community districts or within one district. This should not compete with the so-called through railways , i.e. H. the secondary or main lines to connect larger towns.
In Australia , beginning in Queensland and followed by Tasmania , Western Australia and South Australia , rail lines of minor importance were built in Cape Gauge. Savings were not only due to the smaller track width, but also to the lighter superstructure and correspondingly lower axle loads and speeds, even if the choice of narrow-gauge lane-changing stations was inevitable. While no narrow-gauge lines were built in New South Wales , there were pioneer lines with rails of only 30 kg / m.
Individual evidence
- ^ Streetcar Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ V. Light Railways . In: "An Act to amend the Law relating to Railways" , London, July 31, 1868.
- ^ An Act to Facilitate the Construction of Light Railways in Great Britain . "Light Railways Act" , London, August 14, 1896.
- ^ A b John Charles Mackay: Light Railways for the United Kingdom, India, and the Colonies . C. Lockwood and Son, London, 1896.
- ^ An Act to continue and amend the Light Railways Act 1896. Light Railways Act 1912 , London, December 13, 1912
- ^ William Henry Cole: Light Railways at Home and Abroad . C. Griffin, 1899.
- ^ Rolling Stock . The Colonel Stephens Railway Museum. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ The British Railways Board (Central Wales Railway) Light Railway (Amendment) Order . Her Majesty's Stationery Office , London, April 8, 1986 (Retrieved September 6, 2016).
- ^ The Peak Rail Light Railway Order . Her Majesty's Stationery Office , London, November 5, 1990 (Retrieved June 6, 2016).
- ↑ Law on small railways and private connecting railways of July 28, 1892 BahnPraxis No. 05/2010 (Ed .: Eisenbahn-Unfallkasse), Deutsche Bahn Group. P. 5 ff.
