Fifteen-inch–gauge railway

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. 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 gauge, he settled on gauge as the minimum that he felt was practical.

Railways +15-inch–gauge railway installations NameCountryLocationNotes Bush Mill Railway Australia Port Arthur Closed Austria Vienna Donaupark Prater Liliputbahn Austria Vienna Bear Creek Park Train Canada Surrey, British Columbia Bear Creek Park Pindal Electric Tramway Canada London, Ontario Formerly in Montreal Springbank Express Canada London, Ontario Going again Model Park Denmark Denmark Egå, Aarhus Model Park Denmark Denmark Brande Tivoli lane railway, Tivoli Gardens Denmark Copenhagen The smallest of all: Park Railways. 381 mm (15 inches): This is found, for example, in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen (Tivolibanen). 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 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 ClosedTripadvisorEnd of the line Adventure Railway UK Alton Towers Defunct, 1982–1992park still operating Bellevue Park Railway UK Belfast, Northern Ireland Closed 1950 Blackpool Zoo miniature railway UK Lancashire Blakesley Miniature Railway Blakesley Hall, Northamptonshire Opened 1903, closed c.1944 Blenheim Park Railway UK Oxfordshire Brocklands Adventure Park UK Cornwall Closed 2007 Bure Valley Railway UKNorfolk 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 Fairbourne Railway UK Wales Now converted to 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 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 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 UKGloucestershire 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 Amusement Rides US City Park, Iowa City B.A.D. Great Northern Railroad US California Eden Springs Park Railroad) US Benton Harbor, Michigan Gage Park Railroad US Gage Park, Topeka, Kansas Glenwood, South Park & Pacific Railroad US California Hillcrest & Wahtoke Steam Railroad US Reedley, California Joshua Tree & Southern GSD US California Kansas City Northern Miniature Railroad US Kansas City, Missouri Laurel Run Railroad US Pennsylvania 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 DefunctNickel 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 Separate railway named Scottsdale Live Steamers also present. Operating. Phoenix & Holly Railroad US Oregon Pint-Sized Pufferbelly US Strasburg Rail Road, Strasburg Township, Pennsylvania Operating Redwood Valley Railway US Tilden Regional Park, California 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 Sonoma TrainTown Railroad US California Operating Sullivan Railroad US Horseheads, New York Sutton Miniature Railway, now Tyseley Miniature Railway Project UK Sutton Coldfield, Cleethorpes, Tyseley Shut down in 1962 and stored. Moved to Cleethorpes in 2002. Moved to Tyseley in 2020, under restoration since 2024 Tiny Town Railroad US Colorado Waterman & Western Railroad US Illinois

See also

Bassett-Lowke British narrow-gauge railways Heritage railway List of British heritage and private railways List of track gauges Minimum-gauge railway

References