Editing Dual gauge (section)

===Triple gauge===
[[File:Cross-section of Australian triple-gauge track.png|thumb|left|Cross-section of triple-gauge track at [[Gladstone railway station, South Australia|Gladstone]] and [[Peterborough railway station, South Australia|Peterborough]], [[South Australia]], before [[Sydney–Perth rail corridor|gauge standardisation]]. The three gauges require the respective gaps between the outer and inner rails to be different, unlike four-rail dual gauge.]]

In rare situations, three different gauges may converge on to a rail yard and triple-gauge track is needed to meet the operational needs of the break-of-gauge station – most commonly where there is insufficient space to do otherwise. Construction and operation of triple-gauge track and its signalling, however, involves immense cost and disruption, and is undertaken when no other alternative is available.<ref>{{cite book|title=Making tracks: 46 years in Australian railways  |last=Fitch |first=Ronald J. |date=1989 |location= Kenthurst NSW |publisher=Kangaroo Press |page=141 |isbn=0864172702 }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable floatleft mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" border= "1" style= "width:60%; font-size: 86%; float:left; margin-left:2em; margin-right:2em; margin-bottom:2em"
!colspan="2"| {{larger|''' Gallery: Triple gauge (4 rails)'''}}

|-align="center"
|<br />[[Image: South Australian Railways triple-gauge turnout, Gladstone (KNorgrove).jpg|border|400x130px|none]] 
|<br />[[Image: Four-rail triple-gauge turnout, Gladstone South Australia (HSWilliams).jpg|border|400x130px|none]]
|-align="left" vertical-align="top"
|style="vertical-align: top; width=100"|1600&nbsp;/ 1435&nbsp;/ 1067&nbsp;mm<br />(5&nbsp;ft 3&nbsp;/ 4&nbsp;ft 8<span style="vertical-align:super;font-size:x-small">1</span>/<span style="vertical-align:sub;font-size:x-small">2</span>&nbsp;/ 3&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in).<br />Turnout, 4-rail triple-gauge both ways, from the points end.{{hair space}}{{efn-la|Gladstone, South Australia, early 1970s.}}
|style="vertical-align: top; width=100"|1600&nbsp;/ 1435&nbsp;/ 1067&nbsp;mm<br />(5&nbsp;ft 3&nbsp;/ 4&nbsp;ft 8<span style="vertical-align:super;font-size:x-small">1</span>/<span style="vertical-align:sub;font-size:x-small">2</span>&nbsp;/ 3&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in).<br />Turnout, 4-rail triple-gauge both ways, from the crossing end.{{hair space}}{{efn-la|Gladstone, South Australia, early 1970s.}}

|-align="center"
|<br />[[Image: Gladstone Railyard March 1986 002.jpg |border|400x130px|none]]
|<br />[[Image: South Australian Railways standard gauge car on 4-rail track, Gladstone (KNorgrove).jpg|border|400x130px|none]]
|-align="left" vertical-align="top"
|style="vertical-align: top; width=100"| 1600&nbsp;/ 1435&nbsp;/ 1067&nbsp;mm<br />(5&nbsp;ft 3&nbsp;/ 4&nbsp;ft 8<span style="vertical-align:super;font-size:x-small">1</span>/<span style="vertical-align:sub;font-size:x-small">2</span>&nbsp;/ 3&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in). Three-rail dual-gauge track is joined by four-rail triple-gauge.{{hair space}}{{efn-la| Gladstone, South Australia, early 1970s.}}
|style="vertical-align: top; width=100"|1600&nbsp;/ 1435&nbsp;/ 1067mm<br />(5&nbsp;ft 3&nbsp;/ 4&nbsp;ft 8<span style="vertical-align:super;font-size:x-small">1</span>/<span style="vertical-align:sub;font-size:x-small">2</span> in&nbsp;/ 3&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in).<br />Standard-gauge car on 4-rail triple-gauge track. Narrow gauge track is two central rails; broad gauge is far left rail and second from right.{{hair space}}{{efn-la|Gladstone, South Australia, early 1970s.}}

|-align="center"
|<br /> [[Image:Triple-gauge track on turntable, Gladstone, South Australia (HSWilliams).jpg|400x130px|none]]
|<br />[[Image:Triple-gauge railway yard looking south, Gladstone, SA, 1976 (HSWilliams).jpg |border|400x130px|none]]
|-align="left" vertical-align="top"
|style="vertical-align: top; width=100"|1600&nbsp;/ 1435&nbsp;/ 1067&nbsp;mm<br />(5&nbsp;ft 3&nbsp;/ 4&nbsp;ft 8<span style="vertical-align:super;font-size:x-small">1</span>/<span style="vertical-align:sub;font-size:x-small">2</span>&nbsp;/ 3&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in).<br />A six-rail triple-gauge turntable. It must always present the same positioning of rails at both ends, so all four rails must be symmetrical to the central axis. This is made possible only by reducing the profile of the middle rail on either side.{{hair space}}{{efn-la|Locomotive depot, Peterborough, South Australia, 2010 (turntable was made triple-gauge in 1969 to accommodate new standard gauge).}}
|style="vertical-align: top; width=100"|1600&nbsp;/ 1435&nbsp;/ 1067&nbsp;mm<br />(5&nbsp;ft 3&nbsp;/ 4&nbsp;ft 8<span style="vertical-align:super;font-size:x-small">1</span>/<span style="vertical-align:sub;font-size:x-small">2</span>&nbsp;/ 3&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in).<br />When the Sydney–Perth rail corridor was [[track gauge conversion|converted to standard gauge]] in the late 1960s, dual-gauge track in the [[Gladstone railway station, South Australia|Gladstone yard]] had to be replaced by all-new triple-gauge track. The result was an inordinately complex marshalling yard.{{hair space}}{{efn-la|[[Gladstone railway station, South Australia|Gladstone railway station]], 1976.}}
|}
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The following table shows localities where triple gauge has been necessary. 
{| class="wikitable sortable floatleft mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" border= "1" style= "width:95%; font-size: 87%; float:left; margin-left:2em; margin-right:2em; margin-bottom:2em"
! colspan="5"|{{larger|Occurrences of triple gauge}} 
|-
! Place
! Narrowest<br />gauge
! Middle<br />gauge
! Broadest<br />gauge
! Notes
|-
| [[Volos#Railway|Volos]], Greece
| {{Track gauge|600mm}} || rowspan="4" | {{Track gauge|1000mm|comma=off}} || rowspan="5" | {{Track gauge|1435mm|comma=off}}
| {{Track gauge|600mm}} gauge closed in the 1970s, {{Track gauge|1000mm|comma=off}} gauge closed in 1998
|-
| [[Jenbach]], Austria
| {{Track gauge|760mm}} 
| rowspan="2" | Still in use{{When|date=November 2022}}
|-
| [[Montreux]], Switzerland
| rowspan="2" | {{Track gauge|800mm}} 
|-
| [[Capolago]], Switzerland
| Metre gauge line closed in 1950
|-
| [[Växjö]], Sweden
| {{Track gauge|891mm}} || {{Track gauge|1067mm|comma=off}} 
| Until 1974 or later<ref>[http://www.vmjs.se/ Triple gauge at Växjö, ''click on Treskensspår at the left'']</ref>
|-
| [[Latour-de-Carol]], France
| rowspan="3" | {{Track gauge|1000mm|comma=off}} || rowspan="6" | {{Track gauge|1435mm|comma=off}} || rowspan="3" | {{Track gauge|1668mm|comma=off}}
| Three gauges since 1928; still in use in 2024.
|-
| [[Hendaye]], France
| Still in use
|-
| [[Barcelona]], Spain  
| Approach to [[Port of Barcelona]], still in use as of September 2024
|-
| [[Gladstone railway station, South Australia|Gladstone, South Australia]]{{refn|group=note|[[Port Pirie Junction railway station|Port Pirie Junction]] was a triple-gauge station from 1937 to 1983 but, unlike Gladstone, did not have any triple-gauge track. For the most part the gauges were separate; dual-gauge tracks served a few trans-shipment sidings and another [[Port Pirie railway station (Ellen Street)|passenger station]] in the town's main street.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bakewell |first1=Guy  |last2=Wilson |first2=John |date=September 1968 |title=Farewell to Ellen Street |journal=[[Australian Railway History|Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin]] |volume=XIX |issue=371 |page=211 |issn=0005-0105}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://natrailmuseum.org.au/downloads/documents/Multi_Gauge_Muddle.compressed.pdf |title=South Australia's mixed gauge muddle |access-date=8 November 2022 |archive-date=28 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228020700/http://natrailmuseum.org.au/downloads/documents/Multi_Gauge_Muddle.compressed.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} 
| rowspan="3" | {{Track gauge|1067mm|comma=off}} || rowspan="2" | {{Track gauge|1600mm|comma=off}}
| 1968–1983<br />(Some has been reconstructed at the [[National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide]].)<ref>{{cite magazine|title=NRM report |author=<!--Not stated-->|date= January 2022 |magazine=[[Catch Point (periodical)|Catch Point Magazine]] |location=Port Adelaide |publisher=National Railway Museum |page=45 }}</ref>
|-
| [[Peterborough railway station, South Australia|Peterborough, South Australia]]
| 1968–1983. (Some has been preserved at the [[Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre]] in Peterborough.)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.steamtown.com.au/gallery-links/ |title=About Steamtown |author=<!--Not stated-->|date=2022 |website=Steamtown Peterborough |publisher=Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre |access-date=5 November 2022 }}</ref> 
|-
| [[Toronto]], Canada
|| {{Track gauge|1676mm|comma=off}}
| Reported as impending in 1872.<ref>{{cite news |title=The railway gauges |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)]] |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8920889# |volume= XXI |issue=3577 |location=(Original, Hobart. Digital reproduction, Canberra|publisher=National Library of Australia – [[Trove]] digital newspaper archive) |date= 14 June 1872 |page=3 |accessdate=31 October 2022}}</ref> Subsequently [[Track gauge conversion|converted]] to {{Track gauge|1435mm|comma=off}} gauge.
|}

{| class="wikitable floatleft mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" border= "1" style= "width:60%; font-size: 86%; float:left; margin-left:2em; margin-right:2em; margin-bottom:2em"
! colspan="2"| {{larger|'''Gallery: Multi-gauge devices'''}}
|-align="center"
|<br />[[Image:South Australian Railways dual-gauge centraliser, Gladstone (KNorgrove).jpg |border|400x130px|none]]
|<br />[[Image:Dual gauge -- common rail change-over device, Southern Cross station, Melbourne.jpg |border|400x130px|none]]
|-align="left" vertical-align="top"
|style="vertical-align: top; width=100"|1600&nbsp;/ 1067&nbsp;mm<br />(5&nbsp;ft 3&nbsp;/ 3&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in). <br />A dual-gauge '''centraliser''' that directs narrow-gauge livestock cars to the centre of the broad gauge so that they can be shunted without snagging the platforms.{{hair space}}{{efn-la|Gladstone, South Australia, 1970s.}}
|style="vertical-align: top; width=100"|1600&nbsp;/ 1435&nbsp;mm<br /> (5&nbsp;ft 3&nbsp;/ 4&nbsp;ft 8<span style="vertical-align:super;font-size:x-small">1</span>/<span style="vertical-align:sub;font-size:x-small">2</span>&nbsp;in).<br />A simple dual-gauge common-rail '''change-over''' device. It directs standard-gauge rolling stock from the common rail in the left foreground to the right-hand rail in readiness for the turnout in the distance.{{hair space}}{{efn-la|[[Southern Cross station]], Melbourne, Australia, 2010.}}
|-align="center"
|<br /> [[Image:South Australian Railways triple-gauge change-over trackwork -- from one common rail to NG in middle.jpg|border|400x130px|none]] 
|<br />[[Image: Three gauges with one common rail on the right hand side, plus change-over, Gladstone, South Australia (HSWilliams) (cropped).jpg |border|400x130px|none]]
|-align="left" vertical-align="top"
|style="vertical-align: top; width=100"|1600&nbsp;/ 1435&nbsp;/ 1067&nbsp;mm<br />(5&nbsp;ft 3&nbsp;/ 4&nbsp;ft 8<span style="vertical-align:super;font-size:x-small">1</span>/<span style="vertical-align:sub;font-size:x-small">2</span>&nbsp;/ 3&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in).<br />Triple-gauge common-rail '''change-over''' device: from one common rail (right foreground) to narrow gauge in the middle (in the distance).{{hair space}}{{efn-la|[[National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide]], 2022. Rebuilt with components from [[Gladstone, South Australia|Gladstone]].}}
|style="vertical-align: top; width=100"|1600&nbsp;/ 1435&nbsp;/ 1067&nbsp;mm<br />(5&nbsp;ft 3&nbsp;/ 4&nbsp;ft 8<span style="vertical-align:super;font-size:x-small">1</span>/<span style="vertical-align:sub;font-size:x-small">2</span>&nbsp;/ 3&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in).<br />A four-rail triple-gauge track that joins a three-rail dual-gauge track. The '''change-over''' device in the foreground directs standard-gauge rolling stock into a four-rail configuration.{{hair space}}{{efn-la|[[Gladstone railway station, South Australia|Gladstone station, South Australia]], 1976. The four rails in the foreground include one rail that is common to all three gauges (the rail on the right) and the gauges are as follows (numbering rails from left to right): broad gauge, 1&nbsp;and&nbsp;4; standard gauge, 2&nbsp;and&nbsp;4; narrow gauge, 3&nbsp;and&nbsp;4.}}
|}
{{clear}}