Minimum-gauge railway
{{Short description|Railway with a 15 inch track guage}}
{{Distinguish|Ridable miniature railway}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
File:Whiskey River Railway locomotives.jpg, an attraction at Little Amerricka in Marshall, Wisconsin]]
Minimum-gauge railways are railways with track gauges smaller than those of narrow-gauge railways, primarily designed for light, industrial, or tourist transportation. The most common gauges for minimum-gauge railways include:
- {{RailGauge|15in|lk=on}}{{cite book
|last=Heywood |first=A.P.
|author-link=Sir Arthur Heywood
|title=Minimum Gauge Railways
|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44341
|orig-year=1881, Derby: Bemrose
|year=1974
|publisher=Turntable Enterprises
|isbn=0-902844-26-1
|ref=Heywood, Minimum Gauge Railways
}}
- {{RailGauge|400mm|lk=on}}{{cite book | author1= Douglas J. Puffert | title= Tracks across continents, paths through history: the economic dynamics of standardization in railway gauge | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FzAqtQ2mPJQC&q=500mm+gauge+railway+France+Decauville&pg=PA186 | location= Chicago | publisher= The University of Chicago Press | year= 2009 | page= 186 | isbn= 978-0-226-68509-0 }}
- {{RailGauge|16in|lk=on}}
- {{RailGauge|18in|lk=on}}
- {{RailGauge|19in|lk=on}}
- {{RailGauge|500mm|lk=on}}
- {{RailGauge|20in|lk=on}}
These railways have been developed for applications such as estate transport, mining, agriculture, and amusement parks, offering an economical and adaptable solution for restricted environments.
History
The term was originally conceived by Sir Arthur Percival Heywood, who used it in 1874 to describe the principle behind his Duffield Bank Railway, specifically its {{Track gauge|15in|lk=on}} gauge, distinguishing it from a narrow-gauge railway. Having previously built a small railway of {{Track gauge|9in}} gauge, he settled on {{Track gauge|15in}} as the minimum that he felt was practical.
In general, minimum-gauge railways maximize their loading gauge, where the dimension of the equipment is made as large as possible with respect to the track gauge while still providing enough stability to keep it from tipping over. Standard-gauge railways have vehicles that are approximately twice, and in some cases nearly three times, the track gauge in width, but with minimum-gauge railways this can be as much as four times the width of the track as in some of the sugar cane railways of Australia. Minimum-gauge railways allowed for ease of mobility on battlefields, mines, and other restricted environments.
A number of {{Track gauge|18in}} gauge railways were built in Britain to serve ammunition depots and other military facilities, particularly during the First World War.
In South Australia the Semaphore to Fort Glanville Conservation Park includes a steam engine service that runs on an {{Track gauge|18in}} track.
In France, Decauville produced a range of portable track railways running on {{Track gauge|400mm}} and {{Track gauge|500mm}} tracks, most commonly in restricted environments such as underground mine railways, parks and farms.
During World War II, it was proposed to expedite the Yunnan–Burma Railway using {{Track gauge|400mm}} gauge, since such a small gauge can have the tightest of curves in difficult terrain.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49460166 |title=TOY RAILWAY. |newspaper=The Northern Standard |location=Darwin, NT |date=8 December 1939 |access-date=5 December 2011 |page=15 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}
Distinction between ridable miniature and minimum-gauge railway
{{Original research|section|date=May 2020}}
The major distinction between a miniature railway (US: 'riding railroad' or 'grand scale railroad') and a minimum-gauge railway is that miniature lines use models of full-sized prototypes. There are miniature railways that run on gauges as wide as {{RailGauge|2ft}}, for example the Wicksteed Park Railway. There are also rideable miniature railways running on extremely narrow tracks as small as {{RailGauge|10.25in}} gauge, for example the Rudyard Lake Steam Railway. Around the world there are also several rideable miniature railways open to the public using even narrower gauges, such as {{RailGauge|7.25in}} and {{RailGauge|7.5in}}.
Generally minimum-gauge railways have a working function as estate railways, or industrial railways, or providers of public transport links; although most have a distinct function in relation to tourism, and depend upon tourism for the revenue to support their working function.
Railways
{{Sidebar track gauge}}
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Name
! style="width: 100pt;" | Gauge ! width="95" |Country ! width="130" |Location ! Notes |
|---|
| Decauville
| {{RailGauge|400mm|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|France}} France | | Discontinued by Decauville |
| Rufisque tramway
| {{RailGauge|400mm|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|France}} France | | |
| See Fifteen-inch gauge railway
| {{Track gauge|15 in|lk=on}} | | | |
| Prater Liliputbahn
|{{Track gauge|15 in|lk=on}} |{{flagicon|Austria}} Austria |Prater Park, Vienna, Austria | |
| The Valley Railway Adventure (Formerly the Evesham Vale Light Railway))
|{{Track gauge|15 in|lk=on}} |{{flagicon|UK}} UK |Evesham Country Park, Worcestershire | |
| Whistlestop Valley (Formerly Kirklees Light Railway)
|{{Track gauge|15 in|lk=on}} |{{flagicon|UK}} UK | |
| Bure Valley Railway
|{{Track gauge|15 in|lk=on}} |{{flagicon|UK}} UK |
| Candy Cane Express
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|Canada}} Canada | Santa's Village Family Entertainment Park, Bracebridge, Ontario | Replica diesel locomotive with passenger cars, working as amusement park ride |
| Alamogordo/Alameda Park Narrow Gauge Railway
| {{RailGauge|16in|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | The Toy Train Depot, Alamogordo, New Mexico | |
| Balboa Park Miniature Railroad
| {{RailGauge|16in|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Balboa Park (San Diego), San Diego, California | {{cite web|url=http://www.srmduluth.org/G16/G16-history.shtml |title=Southeastern Railway Museum |access-date=1 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182637/http://www.srmduluth.org/G16/G16-history.shtml |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/balboa-park-miniature-railroad|title=Balboa Park Miniature Railroad - Balboa Park|website=Balboapark.org|access-date=1 June 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530102256/http://www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/balboa-park-miniature-railroad|archive-date=30 May 2016}} |
| Cedar Rock Railroad
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US |
| Chippewa Valley Railroad
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Carson Park (Eau Claire, Wisconsin), Eau Claire, Wisconsin | |
| Lakeland Amusement Park
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Defunct |
| Little Florida Railroad
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US |
| id="Michigan AuSable Valley Railroad"
| Michigan AuSable Valley Railroad | {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Defunct as of November, 2017{{cite web|url=http://www.michiganausablevalleyrailroad.com/|title=Home|website=Michiganausablevalleyrailroad.com|access-date=1 June 2016}} |
| Old Smokey Train
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US |
| Pinconning and Blind River Railroad
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Fairview, Michigan (1953–1973) | {{cite web |url=http://www.telmore.com/p&br.html |title=Pinconning & Blind River Railroad}} |
| Pioneer Train
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US |
| Salt Mine Express
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Strataca Salt Mine Adventure, Hutchinson, Kansas, 650 feet underground |
| Schnepf Farms
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US |Schnepf Frams, Queen Creek. Arizona |
| Smokey Joe Railroad
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Eastern Shore Threshermen & Collectors Association, Federalsburg, Maryland |
| Travel Town Railroad
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Travel Town Museum, Los Angeles, California | |
| Whiskey River Railway
| {{RailGauge|16in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Little Amerricka, Marshall, Wisconsin | |
| Island Park Railway
| {{RailGauge|16.5in}} | {{flagicon|Canada}} Canada |
| National Railway Museum
| {{RailGauge|18in}} | {{flagicon|Australia}} Australia | Port Adelaide, South Australia |
| Semaphore & Fort Glanville Tourist Railway
| {{RailGauge|18in}} | {{flagicon|Australia}} Australia | Semaphore, South Australia | Operated by the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide |
| Aotea Railway
| {{RailGauge|18in|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|New Zealand}} New Zealand | Aotea Lagoon, Porirua | |
| Bicton Woodland Railway
| {{Track gauge|18 in}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | |
| Heath Park Tramway
| {{cvt|455|mm|in|frac=16}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | Cardiff |
| Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway
|15 in (381 mm) |{{flagicon|UK}} UK |Kent, United kingdom | |
| Royal Arsenal Railway
| {{Track gauge|18 in|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | | |
| Sand Hutton Light Railway
| {{Track gauge|18 in}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | | |
| Steeple Grange Light Railway
| {{Track gauge|18 in}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | | |
| Sundown Adventure Land
| {{RailGauge|18in}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | Retford, Nottinghamshire | {{fact|date=January 2021}} |
| Terrific Train
| {{RailGauge|18in}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | New Metroland, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear |
| Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad
| {{RailGauge|18in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US |
| Collegeville and Southern Railway
| {{RailGauge|18in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | |
| Fidalgo City and Anacortes Railway
| {{Track gauge|18 in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | | |
| Meadows and Lake Kathleen Railroad[https://dccwiki.com/Meadows_and_Lake_Kathleen_Railroad Meadows and Lake Kathleen Railroad][https://www.pbase.com/fotabug/042707rr We Visit the Meadows & Lake Kathleen Railroad.][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd4U7ECw-i0 YouTube video: Meadows & Lake Kathleen Railroad.]
| {{Track gauge|18 in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | |
| Venice Miniature Railway
| {{RailGauge|18in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Venice Beach, California |
| Griffith Park & Southern Railroad
| {{RailGauge|18.5in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California | |
| Swanton Pacific Railroad
| {{RailGauge|19in|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Swanton Pacific Ranch, Swanton, California | |
| Southern Fuegian Railway
| {{Track gauge|500 mm|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|Argentina}} Argentina | | |
| Geriatriezentrum am Wienerwald Feldbahn
| {{Track gauge|500 mm}} | {{flagicon|Austria}} Austria | | |
| Chemin de Fer Touristique du Tarn
| {{Track gauge|500 mm}} | {{flagicon|France}} France | | |
| Jardin d'Acclimatation railway
| {{Track gauge|500 mm}} | {{flagicon|France}} France | | |
| Petit train d'Artouste
| {{Track gauge|500 mm}} | {{flagicon|France}} France | | |
| Ledesma Mill Railway
| {{Track gauge|20in}} | {{flagicon|Argentina}} Argentina | Partially 20 in[https://books.google.com/books?id=h__OoZEv_AQC&dq=Ledesma+Mill+Railway&pg=PA256 Ledesma] |
| Stanley Park Miniature Railway
| {{RailGauge|20in|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|Canada}} Canada | Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia | |
| North Bay Railway
| {{Track gauge|20in}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | Scarborough, North Yorkshire | |
| Shipley Glen Tramway
| {{Track gauge|20 in}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | | |
| Woburn Safari Park
| {{Track gauge|20 in}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | | |
| Coronado Railroad
| {{RailGauge|20in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | |
| Huff Puff and Whistle Railroad
| {{RailGauge|20in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Story Land, Glen, New Hampshire | |
| Krasnoyarsk Child Railway
| {{Track gauge|20in}} | {{flagicon|Russia}} Russia | Central Park, Krasnoyarsk[https://www.sinfin.net/railways/world/russia.html Railways in Russia][http://www.rzd-expo.ru/new_link/children_railway/Krasnoyarskaya%20detskaya%20jeleznaya%20doroga/ in Russian] | |
| Pleasure Beach Express
| {{RailGauge|21in|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | |
| Little Puffer Miniature Steam Train
| {{RailGauge|22in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco, California | [https://www.sfzoo.org/historic-sites-little-puffer-miniature-steam-train/ Little Puffer] |
| Orient Express
| {{RailGauge|22.75in|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Lakeside Amusement Park, Denver, Colorado | [http://www.reporterherald.com/columnists/colorado-railroads/ci_21384823/trip-into-history-lakeside-amusement-park-train Reporter-Herald A trip into history on the Lakeside Amusement Park train][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQQsWfQaHa8 Orient Express] |
Large amusement railways
{{main|2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways|2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways in the United Kingdom|2 ft gauge railroads in the United States|2 ft 6 in gauge railways|3 ft gauge railways|Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts}}
{{Sidebar track gauge}}
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Name
! style="width: 100pt;" | Gauge ! width="95" |Country ! width="130" |Location ! Notes |
|---|
| Park Railway Maltanka
| {{RailGauge|600 mm|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|Poland}} Poland | Poznań | Śródka Roundabout - New Zoo, {{convert|2.4|mi|km}}, 4 stops |
| Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Wenecja
| {{RailGauge|600 mm|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|Poland}} Poland | Wenecja |
| Assiniboine Park R.R.
|{{RailGauge|24in}} |{{flagicon|Canada}} Canada |
| Centreville Train
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|Canada}} Canada | Centreville Amusement Park, Toronto, Canada | One replica steam locomotive with tender, five passenger cars |
| Greater Vancouver Zoo Railway
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|Canada}} Canada | Greater Vancouver Zoo, Aldergrove, British Columbia | Has two stations, stops only at one station |
| Riverview Park Railway
| {{RailGauge|2ft|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|Canada}} Canada |
| Wildlife Express
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|Canada}} Canada | BC Wildlife Park, Kamloops, British Columbia | |
| Park Railway{{Broken anchor|date=2024-06-04|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Alton Towers#Other notable past rides|reason= The anchor (Other notable past rides) has been deleted.}}
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | Defunct{{Cite web|url=http://altontowersmemories.net/page8.htm|title=Alton Towers Memories - Park Railway}} 1953–1996 |
| Wicksteed Park Railway
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|UK}} UK | Wicksteed Park, Kettering, Northamptonshire | |
| Bayou Le Zoo Choo Choo
| {{RailGauge|2ft|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|US}} US |
| Casey Jr. Circus Train
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Disneyland, Anaheim, California | |
| Century Flyer
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Conway Human Development Center, Conway, Arkansas | |
| C.P. Huntington No. 3
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US |
| Emerson Zooline Railroad
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Saint Louis Zoo, St. Louis, Missouri | |
| Forest Park Miniature Railroad
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | {{cite web|title=Forest Park Miniature Railroad|url=http://www.fpmt.us/|access-date=6 May 2014}} |
| Gatorland Express
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | |
| Grand Sierra Railroad
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California | |
| Hermann Park Railroad
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Hermann Park, Houston, Texas | {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=In}} of track, three stops |
| Kennedy Express
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Kennedy Park (Hayward, California), Hayward, California | |
| Oregon Pacific Railroad
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Oaks Amusement Park, Portland, Oregon |
| San Antonio Zoo Eagle
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US |
| Tauber Family Railroad
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Detroit Zoo, Royal Oak, Michigan | Donated by The Detroit News about 1931 and also supported by Chrysler Motors, zoo patrons and fares{{cite web|url=http://detroitzoo.org/visit/zoo-attractions/tauber-family-railroad|title=Tauber Family Railroad - Detroit Zoo|website=Detroitzoo.org|access-date=18 November 2017}} |
| Turtle Back Junction
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Turtle Back Zoo, West Orange, New Jersey | Two C.P. Huntington Trains{{Cite web|url=http://turtlebackzoo.com/|title=Essex County Turtle Back Zoo|website=Turtle Back Zoo|language=en|access-date=2017-08-07}} |
| Van Saun Park Railroad
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Three Allan Herschell S-24 {{Track gauge|2ft|lk=on}} narrow-gauge Iron Horse trains |
| Zoo Train
| {{RailGauge|2ft}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Santa Barbara Zoo, Santa Barbara, California | |
| Zoofari Express
| {{RailGauge|2ft|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Museum of Life and Science, Durham, North Carolina | |
| BuJu Line
| {{RailGauge|2ft6in|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Burke Junction, Cameron Park, California |
| Fort Wilderness Railroad
| {{RailGauge|2ft6in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Walt Disney World, Bay Lake, Florida | Defunct |
| Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland
| {{RailGauge|2ft6in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Disneyland, Anaheim, California | Defunct |
| Omaha Zoo Railroad
| {{RailGauge|2ft6in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Viewliner Train of Tomorrow
| {{RailGauge|2ft6in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Disneyland, Anaheim, California | Defunct |
| Washington Park & Zoo Railway
| {{RailGauge|2ft6in}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Washington Park (Portland, Oregon), Portland, Oregon | |
| Disneyland Railroad (Paris)
| | {{RailGauge|3ft|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|France}} France | Disneyland Park (Paris), Paris | |
| Disneyland Railroad
| {{RailGauge|3ft|lk=on}} | {{flagicon|US}} US | Disneyland, Anaheim, California | The two original locomotives are 5:8-scale models of a full-size standard gauge locomotive.{{Harvnb|Broggie|2014|p=112}}.{{Harvnb|Broggie|2014|p=220}}. |
See also
{{Portal|Trains}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
- Children's railway
- Decauville
- Feldbahn
- Heritage railway
- Industrial railway
- Light railway
- List of British heritage and private railways
- List of British private narrow-gauge railways
- List of track gauges
- Narrow gauge railway
- Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
- Rail transport modelling scales
- Ridable miniature railway
- Trench railway
- Museum visitor attractions
{{div col end}}
References
{{Commons category|Minimum gauge railways}}
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{Cite book|last=Broggie|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Broggie|year=2014|title=Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom|edition=4th|publisher=The Donning Company Publishers|isbn=978-1-57864-914-3}}
- {{Cite book
|title=The Duffield Bank and Eaton Railways
|last=Clayton |first=H.
|year=1968
|publisher=Oakwood Press
|isbn=0-85361-034-7
}}
- {{Cite book
|title=Minimum Gauge Railways
|last=Heywood |first=Arthur Percival
|author-link=Sir Arthur Heywood, 3rd Baronet
|orig-year=1898
|edition=3rd
|publisher=Turntable Publications
|year=1974
|isbn=0-902844-26-1
|ref={{harvid|Heywood|1898}}
}}
- {{Cite book
|title=Narrow Gauge Railways: England and the Fifteen Inch
|last=Household |first=Humphrey
|publisher=Sutton Publishing
|year=1989
|isbn=0862995752
}}
- {{Cite book
|title=Fifteen Inch Gauge Railways
|last1=Mosley |first1=David
|last2=van Zeller |first2=Peter
|publisher=David & Charles |location=Newton Abbot
|year=1986
|isbn=0-7153-8694-8
}}
- {{Cite book
|title=Sir Arthur Heywood and the Fifteen Inch Gauge Railway
|last=Smithers |first=Mark
|year=1995
|publisher=Plateway Press
|isbn=1-871980-22-4
}}
{{Navbox track gauge}}
{{15 inch gauge railways}}