This is a worldwide list of horse-drawn railways, an early form of rail transport that utilised horses and other similar animals to pull rail cars. Horses were also used for shunting.
This is a worldwide list of horse-drawn railways, an early form of rail transport that utilised horses and other similar animals to pull rail cars. Horses were also used for shunting.
Horses were used to pull railways in funiculars and coal mines as early as early 16th century. The earliest recorded example is the Reisszug, a. inclined railway dating to 1515. Almost all of the mines built in 16th and 17th century used horse-drawn railways as their only mode of transport[citation needed].
| Name | Years of operation | Gauge | Location | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ticknall Tramway | 1802–1913 | 4 ft 2 in (1,270 mm) | Ticknall, England | 
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| Swansea & Mumbles Railway | 1804–1877 | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Swansea, Wales | 
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The world's first passenger railway service. Later electrified[1][2] |
| Leiper Railroad | 1810–1828 | 4 ft (1,219 mm) | Delaware County, Pennsylvania | The first permanent tramway in America | |
| Bryn Oer Tramway | 1814–1861 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Talybont-on-Usk, Wales | 
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| Hill's Tramroad | c. 1815 – c. 1926 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Llanfoist, Wales | 
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| Hay Railway | 1816–1860 | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)/ 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
Eardisley, England to Brecon, Wales | 
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Converted from 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge plateway to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge edgeway |
| Blaafarveværket | Opened c. 1820s | Norway | |||
| Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway | 1823–1888, 1860) [clarification needed] |
4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) | Princetown, England | 
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| Stockton and Darlington Railway | 1825–1833 | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Darlington, England | .jpg)
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Operated with both horses and engines between 1825 and 1833 |
| Granite Railroad | 1826–1871 | 1,524 mm (5 ft) | Quincy, Massachusetts | 
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| Saint-Étienne–Andrézieux railway | 1827– | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | France | 
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| České Budějovice–Linz Railway | 1828– | 1,106 mm (3 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | 
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The first public railway in continental Europe | |
| Bavarian Ludwig Railway | 1835–1863 | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Fürth, Germany | ||
| Whitby and Pickering Railway | Opened 1836 | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Whitby, England | 
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| Port Arthur, Tasmania Tramway | 1836– | Human powered | |||
| Festiniog Railway | 1836–1863[3] | 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) | Porthmadog, Wales | 
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Horses hauled empty trains uphill, and rode down in Dandy waggons under gravity power. Later replaced by steam locomotives. |
| Patent (1838–1844) G. Peppercorne[4] | [What railway is this?] | ||||
| Bratislava to Svätý Jur to Trnava Váh horse railway | 1840 – 10 October 1872 | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)[5][6] | |||
| Bazias to Anina via Oravița | 1846–1863 | Present-day Romania | Used for coal transport to a port on the river Danube | ||
| Leith and Musselburgh Tramway | 1841– [7] |
| Name | Years of operation | Gauge | Location | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fintona Railway | 1853–1957 | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)[8] | Ireland | 
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| Goolwa Port Elliot Railway | 1854–1884 | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) | Extended to Victor Harbor and Strathalbyn by 1869. Used up to 16 horses,[9] 29 to Strathalbyn[10] | ||
| Treffry Tramways | 1835– | Clay mining | |||
| 1861-?[11] | Nelson, New Zealand | ||||
| Dun Mountain Railway | 1861–1901 | 914 mm (3 ft) | 
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| Wallaroo (smelter and port) to Moonta (mines) – tramway | 1862–1890s[12][13] | South Australia | |||
| Port Macdonnell to Mount Gambier – proposal | South Australia | Proposed, but never built[14] | |||
| Omaha Horse Railway | 1867–1889 | Omaha, Nebraska | |||
| Port Wakefield Railway | 1870–1876 | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | South Australia | Converted to locomotive haulage | |
| Kingston-Naracoorte railway line | 1871 | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | South Australia | Operated with horses for first six months after construction before locomotives were available | |
| Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia | 1873–1876 | 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) | Chile | Mule-drawn | |
| Douglas Bay Horse Tramway | 1876–present | 3 ft (914 mm) | Douglas, Isle of Man | Shires and Clydesdales are used to pull a fleet of original tramcars along the seafront. | |
| Port Broughton | 1876–1926 | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | South Australia | 
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Always isolated; locomotives proposed in 1906[15] |
| Namaqualand Railway | opened 1869–1876 | 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) | Steam followed gradually | ||
| Kailan – Lutai Canal | 1878–1881 | Mule-drawn for coal[16] |
| Name | Years of operation | Gauge | Location | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horse Tramways in Fiji | 1884– | 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) 610 mm (2 ft) |
Fiji | Some assisted by manpower. Cane tramways. | |
| Spiekeroog tramways | 1885-1949 | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | East Frisian Islands, Germany | The last horse-drawn railway in Germany. Horses were replaced by diesel locomotives on 31 May 1949 | |
| McKenzie Creek Tramway | 1887–1925 | Horsham, Victoria | Shire-operated, 8 kilometres (5 mi) long | ||
| Nasik Tramway | 1889–1930s | India | |||
| Bärschwil gypsum railway | 1894–1952 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Switzerland | ||
| Welshpool Jetty railway | 1905–1941 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Port Welshpool, Victoria, Australia | 
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| Finton Tramway | Closed 1957 | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) [17] | Ireland | ||
| Gawler[18] | 1879–1931 | 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) | Gawler, South Australia | 
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| Moonta[18] | Yorke Peninsula, South Australia |
