Far Wheels II

Front cover of Far Wheels II, Charles S. Small, A Railroad Monograph Book, (c) 1986

It was this book and the many railways listed within its covers perked my interest in narrow gauge railroading.

Far Wheels II is an updated edition of Charles S. Small’s Far Wheels I. Small has traveled world and visited the many narrow gauge railways that once trans-versed many localities around the world. Far Wheels II is a 102 page collection of text, maps, and images on many of these narrow gauge railways.

Small gives us a glimpse into the workings, equipment types, geographical features, history, and even some thoughts on the accommodations available at some of these locations. Here is one of my favorites:

“In British Africa one finds clean rooms, comfortable beds, water-borne sanitation and the worst food ever prepared by human hands. In French Africa the beds are stuffed with hay, old railways ties and scrap iron. The water and showers are unreliable, but you can eat in the most miserable hamlet like a civilized man and in larger towns like a king.”

Below is the table of contents and the many railways, their gauge, and locations of these narrow gauge railways:

1. Japan 2’ – 6” gauge

Kiso Forest Railway
Japan Sulphur Company
Kosaka Copper Company
Kusakaru Electric Railway

2. Eritrea 950mm gauge

Ferrovia Eritree

3. Madagascar 1000mm gauge

Chemin De Fer Madagascar

4. Fiji, 2’ – 0 gauge

Colonial Sugar Company

5. Portuguese East Africa, 2’ – 5.1/2 “, 3’ 6” gauges

Caminho DeFerri Mozambique

6. Australia, Tasmania, 3’6” gauge, AbtRack

7. Jamaica, 4’ 8 ½ gauge

Jamaican Government Railway

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Other books by Charles S. Small