Numerous industrial narrow-gauge lines were built for peat extraction, clay extraction for brickworks and construction sites. The dominant gauge for industrial lines was 700 mm (2 ft 3 9⁄16 in), contrary to the 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) gauge used in neighbouring countries.
Nowadays, a lot of this industrial rail heritage is preserved in museums or in theme parks, such as the Efteling Steam Train Company.
The majority of the Dutch narrow-gauge railways were built as steam tram networks, predominantly with 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) and 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) track gauge.