5 ft and 1520 mm gauge railways

Uncommon card · No. 184049

Railways with a railway track gauge of 5 ft (1,524 mm) first appeared in the United Kingdom and the United States. This gauge became commonly known as "Russian gauge", because the government of the Russian Empire chose it in 1843. Former areas and states (such as Finland) of the Empire have inherited this standard. However, in 1970, Soviet Railways redefined the gauge as 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in). With about 225,000 km (140,000 mi) of track, 1,520 mm is the second-most common gauge in the world, after 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge.

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