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3 foot gauge with standard gauge components?

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[quote user="santafe347"]I am helping a friend design a 3 foot gauge farm railway, and in order to save money for us, I was wondering if it was possible to use standard gauge track components for 3 foot gauge.[/quote]   I assume your friend’s plan is to build a sort of hobby or estate railroad with no functional purpose other than to ride on for enjoyment.  If this is the case, there is no particular prototype standard, even though a specific gauge has been selected.  A 3-foot-gauge could carry people even if built to a very light pattern.  Rail as light as 16-pound would work fine.  Small mine tram wheels or even Fairmont stamped and drawn motorcar wheels would easily handle the load.  Ties on the order of 6” x 6” or smaller with small spikes or screw clips would suffice.  Lots of compromises such as the omission of springs are possible when building to this light pattern.  Other than wheels and rail, all metalwork can be fabricated from scratch.  Building to this light pattern fulfills the objective to ride on a train of sorts, but it lacks the charm of something more authentic to the medium to heavy prototypes.  Nevertheless, building a hobby railroad is a lot of work and expense, so the compromises are very attractive to some people.    <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> Railroad prototypes such as D&RGW and EBT are at the heavy end of the pattern range, using heavy cast iron 24” diameter wheels and rail in the 60-85-pound range.  Acquiring prototype rolling stock or a locomotive in that heavy pattern, and transporting it to your site will no doubt entail serious costs.  I agree with Paul’s advice about contacting EBT to see if they would sell you anything.  Other than that, there are sometimes ads in Live Steam magazine offering a supply of relatively light rail, trucks, wheelsets, etc.  I agree with Henry that too large of rail can look ungainly, but that is sort of the look of narrow gauge.  A lot of the components of narrow gauge are relative large when compared to the same components in standard gauge systems.  When using extra heavy rail, it helps the look to use the heaviest ties and spikes you can find such as those used on standard gauge mainlines.  It also helps the look to use heavy, deep rock ballast.  I kind of like the look of those extra heavy components in narrow gauge track.   <o:p></o:p> If I were starting from scratch, buying all the rail and track components, I would not select the heaviest pattern.  Instead, I would use rail around 60-pound and standard gauge ties and spikes.  But if I had a free supply of 100-pound rail, I would use it and build the heaviest pattern.    I have seen some few photos of the Drummond Mine railroad in Columbia, SA.  I am guessing that it is about the highest capacity 3-foot-gauge operation in existence.  I wonder what size rail they use.  Maybe you could get exact measurements or the rolling numbers off of that WM rail and somebody here could tell you more about it.  Did the WM leave any joint bars or track bolts?
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