Fifteen-inch–gauge railway

One of the Chemin de fer Touristique d'Anse's X131 when passing through the hills

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]
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	^[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	Gloucestershire
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]
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^[29]
Tiny Town Railroad	US	Colorado
Waterman & Western Railroad	US	Illinois	^[30]

References

↑ Heywood, A.P. (1974) [1881, Derby: Bemrose]. Minimum Gauge Railways. Turntable Enterprises. ISBN 0-902844-26-1.
↑ Donaupark
↑ Bear Creek Park
↑ "CEC: Closed Canadian Parks – Springbank Park". Cec.chebucto.org. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ Going again
↑ "シグナス森林鉄道". Nose Electric Railway. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
↑ Tripadvisor
↑ End of the line
↑ "The Blakesley Miniature Railway". The SMJ Society. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
↑ "Home". Evlr.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ "Home". Kirklesslightrailway.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ "Sadness as last remnants of Markeaton Park Railway to be demolished". Derbytelegraph. Derbyshire Live. 2018-11-02. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
↑ "American Heritage Railroad". Americanfarmheritagemuseum.org. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ "City Park". City of Iowa City. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
↑ "City Park (Iowa City)" (PDF). Uni.edu. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ "Eden Springs Park Benton Harbor Michigan Formerly The House of David". Edenspringspark.org. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
↑ "Glenwood, South Park & Pacific Railroad". Traill.us. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ "Hillcrest". Hillcrestreedley.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ "Joshua Tree & Southern GSD". Home.easrthlink.net. Archived from the original on 6 December 2002. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ "Kansas City Northern Miniature Railroad". kcparks.org/places/kansas-city-northern-railroad.
↑ "Reading Society of Model Engineers". Rsme.org. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ Sayre, Dave. "McCormick – Stillman Railroad Park". Arizonaandpacificrr.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ "Flower Farmer and Phoenix & Holly Railroad – Welcome to the Flower Farmer and Phoenix & Holly Railroad". Flowerfamrer.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ "Pint-Sized Pufferbelly". Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
↑ "Redwood Valley Railway". Redwoodvalleyrailway.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ "Flower Farmer and Phoenix & Holly Railroad – Welcome to the Flower Farmer and Phoenix & Holly Railroad". Flowerfamrer.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
↑ "Sioux City Railroad Museum Website". siouxcityrailroadmuseum.org. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
↑ "Sullivan Railroad in Horseheads NY – Trains Magazine – Trains News Wire, Railroad News, Railroad Industry News, Web Cams, and Forms".
↑ "PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
↑ "waterman & western railroad – Home". Petestrain.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.

[Heywood,_Minimum_Gauge_Railways-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

[SMJ-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.

[DL2175280-12] "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. Archived from the original on 6 December 2002. 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] "PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 2025-11-07.

[30] "waterman & western railroad – Home". Petestrain.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.

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Track gauge (list)
Minimum gauge	15 in (381 mm) 400 mm (15+3⁄4 in) 16 in (406 mm) 18 in (457 mm) 19 in (483 mm) 500 mm (19+3⁄4 in) 20 in (508 mm) 21 in (533 mm) 1 ft 10 in (559 mm)
Narrow gauge	2 foot and 600 mm 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) 760 mm (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in) 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) 800 mm (2 ft 7+1⁄2 in) 891 mm (2 ft 11+3⁄32 in) Swedish three foot 900 mm (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in) 3 ft (914 mm) 950 mm (3 ft 1+3⁄8 in) Italian metre gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge 1,050 mm (3 ft 5+11⁄32 in), 1,055 mm (3 ft 5+1⁄2 in), 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) 1,093 mm (3 ft 7 in), 1,100 mm (3 ft 7+5⁄16 in), 1,200 mm (3 ft 11+1⁄4 in) 4 ft (1,219 mm) 4 ft 1 in (1,245 mm), Middleton Railway 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm), Scotch gauge 4 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1,384 mm), Scotch gauge 4 ft 7+3⁄4 in (1,416 mm) 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm), almost standard gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄4 in (1,429 mm) 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in)
Standard gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in / 1,435 mm, Stephenson gauge
Broad gauge	1,440 mm (4 ft 8+11⁄16 in) 1,445 mm (4 ft 8+7⁄8 in) 1,450 mm (4 ft 9+3⁄32 in) 4 ft 9+3⁄8 in (1,457 mm) 1,458 mm (4 ft 9+13⁄32 in) 4 ft 10+7⁄8 in (1,495 mm), Toronto gauge 5 ft / 1,524 mm and 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in), Russian gauge. 5 ft 2+1⁄4 in / 1,581 mm and 5 ft 2+1⁄2 in / 1,588 mm, Pennsylvania gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm), Irish gauge 5 ft 4+1⁄2 in (1,638 mm), Baltimore gauge 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in), Iberian gauge 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm), Indian gauge 1,945 mm (6 ft 4+9⁄16 in), De Arend 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm), Brunel gauge 3,000 mm (9 ft 10+1⁄8 in), Breitspurbahn 8,200 mm (26 ft 10+27⁄32 in), Lärchwandschrägaufzug 9,000 mm (29 ft 6+5⁄16 in), Krasnoyarsk ship lift
List of track gauge articles	List of track gauges List of tram track gauges Miniature railways Minimum-gauge railways Large amusement railways
Gauge differences	Bogie exchange Break of gauge Dual gauge Gauge conversion list Variable gauge
Transport mode	Tram and light rail Rapid transit Miniature Scale model
Categories	by country by imperial units by metric units by name lists of track gauges

Rail infrastructure
Tracks (history)	Axe ties Ballast Baulk road Breather switch Cant Clip and scotch Date nail Green track Fastening system Fishplate Ladder track Minimum radius Profile Tie/Sleeper Transition curve
Trackwork	Balloon loop Headshunt Pocket track Junction Gauntlet track Guide bar Passing loop Track gauge dual gauge Rail track tramway track Rail yard Classification yard Railway electrification overhead lines third rail ground-level power supply Railway turntable Transfer table (traverser) Roll way Siding refuge siding Switch Track geometry Water crane Water trough Wye
Signalling and safety	Anti-trespass panels Block post Buffer stop Catch points Defect detector Derailer Guard rail Interlocking Level crossing Loading gauge Platform screen doors Railway signal Signalling control Structure gauge Signal bridge Tell-tale Train stop Wayside horn
Structures	Coaling tower Freight house Head house Motive power depot/Railway workshop Platform Roundhouse Shed for trains for goods Station building clock ghost list Water stop
Types	Industrial Military Private station list

Railways

See also

References