Minimum-gauge railway

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:

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 gauge, distinguishing it from a narrow-gauge railway. Having previously built a small railway of gauge, he settled on 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 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.

In France, Decauville produced a range of portable track railways running on and 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 gauge, since such a small gauge can have the tightest of curves in difficult terrain.

Distinction between ridable miniature and minimum-gauge railway

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 , for example the Wicksteed Park Railway. There are also rideable miniature railways running on extremely narrow tracks as small as 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 and .

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

Name GaugeCountryLocation Notes381 mm (15 in) See Fifteen-inch gauge railway Prater Liliputbahn AustriaPrater Park, Vienna, AustriaRomney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway15 in (381 mm) UKKent, United kingdomThe Valley Railway Adventure (Formerly the Evesham Vale Light Railway)) UKEvesham Country Park, WorcestershireWhistlestop Valley (Formerly Kirklees Light Railway) UKKirklees, West YorkshireBure Valley Railway UKAylsham to Wroxham, Norfolk400 mm (15 3⁄4 in) Rufisque tramway France Candy Cane Express 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 US The Toy Train Depot, Alamogordo, New Mexico Balboa Park Miniature Railroad US Balboa Park (San Diego), San Diego, California Cedar Rock Railroad US Leander, Texas Chippewa Valley Railroad US Carson Park (Eau Claire, Wisconsin), Eau Claire, Wisconsin Lakeland Amusement Park US Lakeland, Tennessee Defunct Little Florida Railroad US Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Sanford, Florida Closed Michigan AuSable Valley Railroad US Fairview, Michigan Defunct as of November, 2017 Old Smokey Train US Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pennsylvania Pinconning and Blind River Railroad US Fairview, Michigan (1953–1973) Pioneer Train US Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pennsylvania Salt Mine Express US Strataca Salt Mine Adventure, Hutchinson, Kansas, 650 feet underground Schnepf Farms USSchnepf Frams, Queen Creek. Arizona Smokey Joe Railroad US Eastern Shore Threshermen & Collectors Association, Federalsburg, Maryland Travel Town Railroad US Travel Town Museum, Los Angeles, California Whiskey River Railway US Little Amerricka, Marshall, Wisconsin Island Park Railway Canada Woodstock, New Brunswick National Railway Museum Australia Port Adelaide, South Australia Semaphore & Fort Glanville Tourist Railway Australia Semaphore, South Australia Operated by the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide Aotea Railway New Zealand Aotea Lagoon, Porirua Bicton Woodland Railway UK United Kingdom Heath Park Tramway UK Cardiff Royal Arsenal Railway UK Sand Hutton Light Railway UK Steeple Grange Light Railway UK Sundown Adventure Land UK Retford, Nottinghamshire Terrific Train UK New Metroland, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad US Oak Meadows Park and Vasona Park, Los Gatos, California Collegeville and Southern Railway US Fidalgo City and Anacortes Railway US Meadows and Lake Kathleen RailroadMeadows and Lake Kathleen RailroadWe Visit the Meadows & Lake Kathleen Railroad.YouTube video: Meadows & Lake Kathleen Railroad. US Venice Miniature Railway US Venice Beach, California 1943–1968 Griffith Park & Southern Railroad US Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California Swanton Pacific Railroad US Swanton Pacific Ranch, Swanton, California Defunct since 2020 Southern Fuegian Railway Argentina Geriatriezentrum am Wienerwald Feldbahn Austria Chemin de Fer Touristique du Tarn France Jardin d'Acclimatation railway France Petit train d'Artouste France Ledesma Mill Railway Argentina Province of Jujuy Partially 20 inLedesma Stanley Park Miniature Railway Canada Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia North Bay Railway UK Scarborough, North Yorkshire Shipley Glen Tramway UK Woburn Safari Park UK Coronado Railroad US Chase Creek Huff Puff and Whistle Railroad US Story Land, Glen, New Hampshire Krasnoyarsk Child Railway Russia Central Park, KrasnoyarskRailways in Russiain Russian Pleasure Beach Express UK Blackpool, Lancashire Little Puffer Miniature Steam Train US San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco, California Little Puffer Orient Express US Lakeside Amusement Park, Denver, Colorado Reporter-Herald A trip into history on the Lakeside Amusement Park trainOrient Express

Large amusement railways

Name GaugeCountryLocation Notes Park Railway Maltanka Poland Poznań Śródka Roundabout - New Zoo, , 4 stops Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Wenecja Poland Wenecja Wenecja - Biskupin, ~, 5 stopsAssiniboine Park R.R. CanadaWinnipeg, Manitoba Centreville Train Canada Centreville Amusement Park, Toronto, Canada One replica steam locomotive with tender, five passenger cars Greater Vancouver Zoo Railway Canada Greater Vancouver Zoo, Aldergrove, British Columbia Has two stations, stops only at one station Riverview Park Railway Canada Riverview Park & Zoo, Peterborough, Ontario Wildlife Express Canada BC Wildlife Park, Kamloops, British Columbia Park Railway UK Alton Towers Park Defunct 1953–1996 Wicksteed Park Railway UK Wicksteed Park, Kettering, Northamptonshire Bayou Le Zoo Choo Choo US Alexandria Zoological Park, Alexandria, Louisiana Casey Jr. Circus Train US Disneyland, Anaheim, California Century Flyer US Conway Human Development Center, Conway, Arkansas C.P. Huntington No. 3 US Pullen Park, Raleigh, North Carolina Emerson Zooline Railroad US Saint Louis Zoo, St. Louis, Missouri Forest Park Miniature Railroad US Fort Worth, Texas Gatorland Express US Gatorland, Orlando, Florida Grand Sierra Railroad US Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California Hermann Park Railroad US Hermann Park, Houston, Texas of track, three stops Kennedy Express US Kennedy Park (Hayward, California), Hayward, California Oregon Pacific Railroad US Oaks Amusement Park, Portland, Oregon San Antonio Zoo Eagle US Brackenridge Park, San Antonio, Texas Tauber Family Railroad US Detroit Zoo, Royal Oak, Michigan Donated by The Detroit News about 1931 and also supported by Chrysler Motors, zoo patrons and fares Turtle Back Junction US Turtle Back Zoo, West Orange, New Jersey Two C.P. Huntington Trains Van Saun Park Railroad US Paramus, New Jersey Three Allan Herschell S-24 narrow-gauge Iron Horse trains Zoo Train US Santa Barbara Zoo, Santa Barbara, California Zoofari Express US Museum of Life and Science, Durham, North Carolina BuJu Line US Burke Junction, Cameron Park, California Fort Wilderness Railroad US Walt Disney World, Bay Lake, Florida Defunct Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland US Disneyland, Anaheim, California Defunct Omaha Zoo Railroad US Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha, Nebraska Viewliner Train of Tomorrow US Disneyland, Anaheim, California Defunct Washington Park & Zoo Railway US Washington Park (Portland, Oregon), Portland, Oregon Disneyland Railroad (Paris) France Disneyland Park (Paris), Paris Disneyland Railroad US Disneyland, Anaheim, California The two original locomotives are 5:8-scale models of a full-size standard gauge locomotive...

Minimum-gauge railway

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