ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Narrow-gauge railways in Australia

Alright little buddy, so imagine you have a toy train track that is a certain distance apart, let's say it's 10cm. But then you have another toy train track that is closer together, let's say it's only 5cm apart. That's kind of what we call a "narrow-gauge" railway track.

In Australia, they have built some train tracks that are closer together than the regular train tracks you might see. These narrow-gauge railways were built a long time ago in places where it was hard to build bigger train tracks, like in the mountains or through forests. The trains that run on these tracks are also smaller and lighter than the ones you see on big train tracks, kind of like toy trains.

Even though they are smaller, they are still really important for moving things around. For example, some of these narrow-gauge railways in Australia are used to transport things like timber or ore from mines. They can fit into smaller spaces and go around more bends in the track, which makes it easier to get goods to where they need to go.

Overall, narrow-gauge railways in Australia are kind of like toy trains, they are smaller and closer together than regular train tracks, but they still play a big role in transporting goods around the country.