Mae rheilffordd gul yn rhatach i’w hadeiladu ac i’w haddasu na rheilffordd lled safonol. Yn y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg roedd rhai diwydiannau yn defnyddio traciau lled cul ar systemau rheilffordd mewnol, yn enwedig os oedd gofod yn gyfyng. Roedd y rhain yn cynnwys gweithfeydd brics, bragdai, gweithfeydd peirianegol, storfeydd nwyddau a gweithfeydd dŵr, yn ogystal â gweithfeydd nwy, glo golosg, calch a dur.
Mae goruchafiaeth 2tr(600mm) fel y prif led cul a ddefnyddir gan ddiwydiant yn y DU wedi deillio i raddau helaeth o’r gwaith arloesi a wnaed ar Reilffordd Festiniog (Ffestiniog erbyn hyn), ac o’r ‘Systeme Decauville’ a gyflwynwyd yn Ffrainc ym 1876. Roedd y system hon yn cynnwys trac modwlar cludadwy, wagenni a locomotifau.
Yn ystod y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf (1914-18) defnyddiwyd rhwydwaith eang o reilffyrdd 2tr (600mm) o led i symud dynion a chyflenwadau i’r rheng flaen. Ar ôl y rhyfel, cafodd llawer iawn o’r offer hwn ei brynu’n rhad i’w ddefnyddio mewn diwydiant. Profodd hen locomotifau petrol milwrol yn arbennig o ddefnyddiol.
O gychwyn y 1950au, yn raddol dechreuodd y cludfelt, wagenni fforch godi a chraen symudol gymryd lle’r rheilffyrdd cul ar gyfer cludo a thrin nwyddau mewn diwydiant. Roedd yn ymddangos y byddai pob rheilffordd fach yn diflannu ym Mhrydain, gwlad oedd yn newid yn gyflym.
Heddiw mae rheilffyrdd bach cul yn dal i gael eu defnyddio ar gyfer gwaith mwyngloddio, adeiladu (yn arbennig twneli), ac yn y diwydiannau mawn a phren.
A narrow gauge railway is cheaper to construct and modify than a standard gauge line. In the nineteenth century some industries used narrow gauge tracks on internal railway systems, especially where space was restricted. These included brickworks, breweries, engineering works, stockyards and waterworks, as well as gas, coking coal, lime and steel plants.
The dominance of 2ft (600mm) as the main narrow gauge used by industry in the UK owes a lot to the innovations on the Festiniog (now Ffestiniog) Railway, and to ‘Systeme Decauville’ unveiled in France in 1876. This system included portable modular track, wagons and locomotives.
During the First World War (1914-18) an extensive network of 2ft (600mm) gauge railways was used to move men and supplies to the front. After the war, a huge amount of this equipment was purchased cheaply for industrial use. Ex-military petrol-engined locomotives proved to be particularly useful.
From the 1950s, movement and handling by conveyor belt, forklift truck and mobile crane gradually replaced the use of narrow gauge in industry. It seemed that all trace of these little railways would disappear in a Britain undergoing rapid change.
Today narrow gauge railways continue to be used in mining, construction (especially tunnels), and in the peat and timber industries.
- Birkby’s Brickworks
- Bord na Mona
- Briton Ferry Iron Works
- Brymbo Ironstone
- Bryn Oer Tramroad
- Buckley Tramway
- Castle Firebrick Company
- Cliffe Hill Quarry
- Craig Ddu Quarry
- Crich Quarry Railway
- Croesor Tramway
- Dean Forest Tramway
- Dinorwic Quarries and Padarn Railway
- Dorking Greystone Lime Company
- Dorothea Slate Quarry
- Eastwell and Waltham Ironstone Company
- Friog Quarry
- Furzebrook Railway
- Gloddfa Ganol Slate Mine
- Gorseddau Tramway
- Guinness Brewery Railway
- Hendre Ddu Tramway
- John Parish and Company
- Kettering Iron and Coal Company
- Lehane, McKenzie and Shand Company
- Liskeard and Caradon Tramway
- London Brick Company
- Madeley Wood Tramway
- Morwellham Plateway
- Nant Col Quarry
- Oakeley Quarries
- Peak Forest Tramway
- Penrhyn Quarries
- Penmaenmawr and Welsh Granite Company
- Pike Bros, Fayle and Company