Fifteen-inch–gauge railway

Track gauge
By transport mode
By size (list)
  Minimum
  Fifteen inch 381 mm (1 ft 3 in)
  Narrow
  600 mm 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
Two foot 610 mm (2 ft)
Two foot three inch 686 mm (2 ft 3 in)
  750 mm 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Bosnian gauge 760 mm (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in)
Two foot six inch 762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
  Swedish three foot 891 mm (2 ft 11+3⁄32 in)
900 mm 900 mm (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in)
Three foot 914 mm (3 ft)
Italian metre 950 mm (3 ft 1+13⁄32 in)
  Metre 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
  Three foot six inch 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
  Four foot 1,219 mm (4 ft)
  Four foot six inch 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)
  1432 mm 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in)
  Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
  Broad
  Italian broad gauge 1,445 mm (4 ft 8+7⁄8 in)
Dresden gauge 1,450 mm (4 ft 9+3⁄32 in)
  Leipzig gauge 1,458 mm (4 ft 9+13⁄32 in)
  Toronto gauge 1,495 mm (4 ft 10+7⁄8 in)
  1520 mm 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)
Five foot 1,524 mm (5 ft)
  Pennsylvania gauge 1,581 mm (5 ft 2+1⁄4 in)
Pennsylvania gauge 1,588 mm (5 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Five foot three inch 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
  Baltimore gauge 1,638 mm (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)
  Iberian gauge 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in)
Five foot six inch 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
  Six foot 1,829 mm (6 ft)
  Brunel 2,140 mm (7 ft 1⁄4 in)
  Breitspurbahn 3,000 mm (9 ft 101⁄8 in)
Change of gauge
By location

Fifteen-inch–gauge railways were pioneered by Sir Arthur Percival Heywood who was interested in what he termed a minimum-gauge railway for use as estate railways or to be easy to lay on, for instance, a battlefield.[1] In 1874, he described the principle behind it as used for his Duffield Bank Railway, distinguishing it from a narrow-gauge railway. Having previously built a small railway of 9 in (229 mm) gauge, he settled on 15 in (381 mm) gauge as the minimum that he felt was practical.

Railways

15-inch–gauge railway installations
Name Country Location Notes
Bush Mill Railway Australia Port Arthur Closed
Donauparkbahn Austria Vienna [2]
Prater Liliputbahn Austria Vienna
Bear Creek Park Train Canada Surrey, British Columbia [3]
Pindal Electric Tramway Canada London, Ontario Formerly in Montreal
Springbank Express Canada London, Ontario [4][5]
Chemin de fer Touristique d'Anse France Anse, Rhône
Dresden Park Railway Germany Dresden
Killesberg Park Railway Germany Stuttgart
Leipziger Parkeisenbahn Germany Leipzig
Difflin Lake Railway Ireland
Cygnus wood-land Railway Japan Osaka [6]
Sakuradani Light Railway Japan Toyono District of Osaka Prefecture
Shuzenji Romney Railway Japan Niji-no-Sato (Rainbow Park) in Izu, Shizuoka
Driving Creek Railway New Zealand
Whangaparaoa Narrow Gauge Railway New Zealand Closed[7][8]
Adventure Railway UK Alton Towers Defunct, 1982–1992 – park still operating
Bellevue Park Railway UK Belfast, Northern Ireland Closed 1950
Blackpool Zoo miniature railway UK Lancashire
Blakesley Miniature Railway  UK Blakesley Hall, Northamptonshire Opened 1903, closed c.1944[9]
Blenheim Park Railway UK Oxfordshire
Brocklands Adventure Park UK Cornwall Closed 2007
Bure Valley Railway UK Norfolk Standard-gauge line closed 1982. 15-inch–gauge line opened 1990.
Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway UK Lincolnshire
Conwy Valley Railway Museum UK Betws-y-Coed, North Wales Short tramway
Craigtoun Miniature Railway UK Craigtoun Park, St. Andrews
Duffield Bank Railway UK Closed 1916
Eaton Hall Railway UK Closed 1946
Evesham Vale Light Railway UK Evesham Country Park, Twyford, Worcestershire [10]
Fairbourne Railway UK Wales Now converted to 12+1⁄4 in or 311 mm gauge
Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Branch Railway UK Battersea Park, London Closed 1975
Gulliver's Land UK Milton Keynes
Gulliver's World UK Warrington, Cheshire
Haigh Hall Miniature Railway UK Greater Manchester
Heatherslaw Light Railway UK Northumberland
International Garden Festival Railway UK 1984
Whistlestop Valley (Formerly Kirklees Light Railway) UK Clayton West, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire [11]
Knowsley Safari Park (The Lakeside Railway) UK Prescot, Merseyside
Lakeside Miniature Railway UK Southport, Merseyside
Lappa Valley Steam Railway UK Cornwall
Lightwater Express Rio Grande UK Ripon, North Yorkshire Theme park
Longleat Railway UK
Markeaton Park Light Railway UK Derby Closed September 2016[12]
Marwell Zoo UK Colden Common, Hampshire Closed 2022
Oakwood Theme Park UK Narberth, Pembrokeshire
Paradise Park UK Hayle, Cornwall
Paultons Park UK Ower, Romsey, Hampshire
Perrygrove Railway UK
Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway UK Cumbria
Rhiw Valley Light Railway UK Manafon, Powys, Wales Closed 2022
Rhyl Miniature Railway UK Clwyd, Wales
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway UK Kent
Saltburn Miniature Railway UK Cat Nab, Cleveland
Sand Hutton Miniature Railway UK Yorkshire Closed 1922
Sherwood Forest Railway UK Nottinghamshire
Waveney Valley Railway UK Bressingham Steam and Gardens Norfolk
West Midlands Safari Park UK Worcestershire Closed 2014
Windmill Farm Railway UK Burscough, Lancashire
Wildlife Park Cricket St Thomas UK Chard, Somerset
Wotton Light Railway UK Wotton Underwood, Buckinghamshire
American Heritage Railroad US Illinois [13]
Amusement Rides US City Park, Iowa City [14][15]
B.A.D. Great Northern Railroad US California
Eden Springs Park Railroad) US Benton Harbor, Michigan [16]
Gage Park Railroad US Gage Park, Topeka, Kansas
Glenwood, South Park & Pacific Railroad US California [17]
Hillcrest & Wahtoke Steam Railroad US Reedley, California [18]
Joshua Tree & Southern GSD US California [19]
Kansas City Northern Miniature Railroad US Kansas City, Missouri [20]
Laurel Run Railroad US Pennsylvania [21]
Little Toot Railroad US Rough and Tumble Engineers Historical Association, Pennsylvania
Look Park US Northampton, Massachusetts
Miniature Railway at Silver Lake, Ohio US Silver Lake, Ohio Defunct
Miniature Train at Monarch Park US Oil City, Pennsylvania Defunct
Nickel Plate Railroad US California
Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation US Ohio
Orland, Newville and Pacific Railroad US California Operating
Paradise & Pacific Railroad US McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, Scottsdale, Arizona [22] Separate 7+1⁄2 in or 190.5 mm railway named Scottsdale Live Steamers also present. Operating.
Phoenix & Holly Railroad US Oregon [23]
Pint-Sized Pufferbelly US Strasburg Rail Road, Strasburg Township, Pennsylvania [24] Operating
Redwood Valley Railway US Tilden Regional Park, California [25] Operating
Riverside and Great Northern Railway US Wisconsin
Riverview & Twin Lakes Railroad US Wyoming
Safari Train US Milwaukee County Zoo, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Operating
Sioux City Railroad Museum US Iowa [26]
Sonoma TrainTown Railroad US California [27] Operating
Sullivan Railroad US Horseheads, New York [28]
Tiny Town Railroad US Colorado
Waterman & Western Railroad US Illinois [29]

See also

References

  1. ^ Heywood, A.P. (1974) [1881, Derby: Bemrose]. Minimum Gauge Railways. Turntable Enterprises. ISBN 0-902844-26-1.
  2. ^ Donaupark
  3. ^ Bear Creek Park
  4. ^ "CEC: Closed Canadian Parks – Springbank Park". Cec.chebucto.org. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  5. ^ Going again
  6. ^ "シグナス森林鉄道". Nose Electric Railway. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  7. ^ Tripadvisor
  8. ^ End of the line
  9. ^ "The Blakesley Miniature Railway". The SMJ Society. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Home". Evlr.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Home". Kirklesslightrailway.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Sadness as last remnants of Markeaton Park Railway to be demolished". Derbytelegraph. Derbyshire Live. 2018-11-02. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  13. ^ "American Heritage Railroad". Americanfarmheritagemuseum.org. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  14. ^ "City Park". City of Iowa City. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  15. ^ "City Park (Iowa City)" (PDF). Uni.edu. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  16. ^ "Eden Springs Park Benton Harbor Michigan Formerly The House of David". Edenspringspark.org. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  17. ^ "Glenwood, South Park & Pacific Railroad". Traill.us. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  18. ^ "Hillcrest". Hillcrestreedley.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  19. ^ "Joshua Tree & Southern GSD". Home.easrthlink.net. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  20. ^ "Kansas City Northern Miniature Railroad". kcparks.org/places/kansas-city-northern-railroad.
  21. ^ "Reading Society of Model Engineers". Rsme.org. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  22. ^ Sayre, Dave. "McCormick – Stillman Railroad Park". Arizonaandpacificrr.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  23. ^ "Flower Farmer and Phoenix & Holly Railroad – Welcome to the Flower Farmer and Phoenix & Holly Railroad". Flowerfamrer.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  24. ^ "Pint-Sized Pufferbelly". Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  25. ^ "Redwood Valley Railway". Redwoodvalleyrailway.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  26. ^ "Flower Farmer and Phoenix & Holly Railroad – Welcome to the Flower Farmer and Phoenix & Holly Railroad". Flowerfamrer.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  27. ^ "Sioux City Railroad Museum Website". siouxcityrailroadmuseum.org. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  28. ^ "Sullivan Railroad in Horseheads NY – Trains Magazine – Trains News Wire, Railroad News, Railroad Industry News, Web Cams, and Forms".
  29. ^ "waterman & western railroad – Home". Petestrain.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
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