Narrow gauge trains moving std. gauge equipment

[Earl Leavitt]

Several weeks ago I caught the tail end of a lunchtime conversation at the Percival house. Several had been discussing the numerous photos showing narrow gauge equipment being transported on standard gauge roads and the comment was offered by one that he'd never seen a photo of a narrow gauge line moving std. gauge equipment. Well, during WW1 the Germans apparently had need to do this and used the equivalent of purpose built log bunk style cars placed under the axles of larger gauge equipment. Here's a photo taken from "Two Foot Rails to the Front". If you've ever seen photos of the track the two foot supply lines operated over then you'll marvel that they even attempted this!

[John L Dobson]

'Rollbocke' of this type are, I believe, still in use on the metre-gauge lines in the Hartz region of Germany

[Benjamin Richards]

I once saw a photo of a Swedish metre-gauge coach loaded on a standard-gauge flatcar, itself mounted on two 42 inch-gauge transfer bogies. Something about being shipped to the main shops for refurbishment. If I can find the photo I'll post it.

[Dag Bonnedal]

Benjamin, here is the photo you saw.
The coach is a Swedish elderly 3-footer (35 inch gauge) that is to be transported to a workshop at a 42 inch network for rebuild.
Both NG networks newly taken over by the Swedish State Railways at the time.
In Kristianstad south-east Sweden, circa 1950.

https://digitaltmuseum.org/021018140765/statens-jarnvagar-sj-w3t-4003-anglok-tva-overforingsvagnar-med-sparvidden

To comment on the original question in this thread. Transporters, i.e. very low (about 2 ft high) 4 or 6 axle, very sturdy cars with SG rails on top. Or transporter bogies, i.e. short bogies with a cradle on top for the SG axle, were very common on European NG networks. Not only in wartime but all throu the 19-hundreds and up to modern times, probably they are still in use somewhere. They were used on all gauges down to 29.5 inch (750 mm), but I have never seen anything like it on narrower gauges than that. Might be more than a challenge to run them on 2 ft gauge...
The photo in Earl's post is probably on meter gauge.

The stability is of course an issue. When transporters were introduced on a NG network, the super elevation of the track in curves had often to be reduced. I remember a case in the 1970-ties on the network north-east of Stockholm when a few SG cars fell of the transporters and the driver did not notice. The train arrived a the end station with a few empty transporters in the middle of the train.