Birkenhead Railway, authorised on 12 July 1837, used . The London and Brighton Railway, authorised on 15 July 1837, used . The Manchester and Birmingham Railway, authorised on 30 June 1837, used . The Pennsylvania Railroad originally used The trams in Dresden, authorised in 1872 as horsecars, used gauge vehicles. Converted to 600 V DC electric trams in 1893, they now use ; both gauges are within the tolerance for standard gauge. The Ohio gauge of Dual gauge Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway, authorised 1836, opened 1840, dual gauge 1843 and . Initially standard gauge Several lines were initially build as standard gauge but were later converted to another gauge for cost or for compatibility reasons. South Africa became Thailand became Indonesia became Ireland became - Dublin and Kingstown Railway Australia became - Victoria & South Australia India became - initial freight lines some private Japanese railways Modern almost standard gauge railways The Toronto Transit Commission uses a Toronto gauge of on its streetcar and heavy-rail subway lines, which was actually closer to gauge. The Toronto Transit Commission light-metro lines and light-rail lines (whether existing, under construction or proposed) use standard gauge. Trams in Leipzig, Germany use . Trams in Dresden, Germany use . gauge is in use on several urban rail transit systems in Europe: Trams in Italy Madrid Metro (only metro system. Light rail system uses standard gauge.) The MTR in Hong Kong uses gauge on lines owned by the MTR Corporation. However, lines formerly operated (but which continue to be owned) by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, including the Light Rail network, use gauge. New lines and extensions to the MTR after 2014 use gauge, including the South Island line, Kwun Tong line extension and West Island line. The Bucharest Metro uses gauge. The Washington Metro uses , narrower than standard gauge. The Mount Washington Cog Railway, the world's oldest mountain-climbing rack-and-pinion railway, uses a gauge. Railways Non-rail use Several states in the United States had laws requiring road vehicles to have a consistent gauge to allow them to follow ruts in the road. Those gauges were similar to railway standard gauge. See also Standard Gauge (toy trains) List of tram systems by gauge and electrification Track gauge Regulating the Gauge of Railways Act 1846 Notes References Bibliography External links , a discussion of gauge in Australia circa 1892 , a discussion of the Roman gauge origin