Editing Narrow-gauge railway (section)

=== Early hand-worked lines ===
[[Image:DeReMetallicaShaft.jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=Woodcut of a mine with three shafts|1556 woodcut from ''[[De re metallica]]'', showing a narrow-gauge railway in a mine]]

The earliest recorded railway appears in [[Georgius Agricola]]'s 1556 ''[[De re metallica]]'', which shows a mine in Bohemia with a railway of about {{Track gauge|2ft|lk=on}} gauge. During the 16th century, railways were primarily restricted to hand-pushed, narrow-gauge lines in mines throughout Europe. In the 17th century, [[mine railway]]s were extended to provide transportation above ground. These lines were [[industrial railway|industrial]], connecting mines with nearby transportation points (usually canals or other waterways). These railways were usually built to the same narrow gauge as the mine railways from which they developed.<ref name="WHITESNELL">{{cite book |title=Narrow Gauge Railways of the British Isles |author1=Whitehouse, Patrick  |author2=Snell, John B.  |name-list-style=amp |year=1984 |publisher=David & Charles |isbn=0-7153-0196-9}}</ref>