Minimum gauge railway

Not to be confused with Ridable miniature railway.

Track gauge

By transport mode

Tram · Rapid transit
Miniature · Scale model

By size (list)



Minimum
Fifteen inch	381 mm	(15 in)

Narrow
600 mm, Two foot	597 mm 600 mm 603 mm 610 mm	(1 ft 11 ¹⁄₂ in) (1 ft 11 ⁵⁄₈ in) (1 ft 11 ³⁄₄ in) (2 ft)
750 mm, Bosnian, Two foot six inch, 800 mm	750 mm 760 mm 762 mm 800 mm	(2 ft 5 ¹⁄₂ in) (2 ft 5 ¹⁵⁄₁₆ in) (2 ft 6 in) (2 ft 7 ¹⁄₂ in)
Swedish three foot, 900 mm, Three foot	891 mm 900 mm 914 mm	(2 ft11 ³⁄₃₂ in) (2 ft 11 ⁷⁄₁₆) (3 ft)
Metre	1,000 mm	(3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in)
Three foot six inch, Cape, CAP, Kyōki	1,067 mm	(3 ft 6 in)
Four foot six inch	1,372 mm	(4 ft 6 in)

Standard	1,435 mm	(4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)

Broad
Russian, Five foot	1,520 mm 1,524 mm	(4 ft 11 ²⁷⁄₃₂ in) (5 ft)
Irish	1,600 mm	(5 ft 3 in)
Iberian	1,668 mm	(5 ft 5 ²¹⁄₃₂ in)
Indian	1,676 mm	(5 ft 6 in)
Six foot	1,829 mm	(6 ft)
Brunel	2,140 mm	(7 ft ¹⁄₄ in)

Change of gauge

Break-of-gauge · Dual gauge ·
Conversion (list) · Bogie exchange · Variable gauge

By location

North America · South America · Europe

Minimum gauge railways have a gauge of most commonly 15 in (381 mm),^[1] 400 mm (15 ³⁄₄ in), 16 in (406 mm), 18 in (457 mm), 500 mm (19 ³⁄₄ in) or 20 in (508 mm). The notion of minimum gauge railways was originally developed by estate railways^[1] and by the French company of Decauville for industrial railways.

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 15-inch gauge, 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) as the minimum that he felt was practical.^[1] An important feature was that it was intended to be easy to lay on, for instance, a battlefield.

A general aspect about minimum gauge railways is that the loading gauge is maximized, which is to say 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. Also that it should be easy to lay and to move.

A number of 18 in (457 mm) gauge railways were built in Britain to serve ammunition depots and other military facilities, particularly during the First World War.

In France Decauville produced a range of portable track railways running on 400 mm (15 ³⁄₄ in) and 500 mm (19 ³⁄₄ in) 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 400 mm (15 ³⁄₄ in) gauge, since such a small gauge can have the tightest of curves in difficult terrain.^[2]

Distinction between a ridable miniature railway and a minimum gauge railway

The major distinction between a miniature railway (USA: '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 2 ft (610 mm), for example the Wicksteed Park Railway. There are also ridable miniature railways running on extremely narrow track as small as 10 ¹⁄₄ in (260 mm) gauge, for example the Rudyard Lake Steam Railway. Around the world there are also several ridable miniature railways open to public using even more narrower gauges, such as 7 ¹⁄₄ in (184 mm) and 7 ¹⁄₂ in (190.5 mm).

Generally minimum gauge railways have a working function as estate railways, or industrial railways, or providers of public transport links; although most also have a distinct function in relation to tourism as well, and depend upon tourism for the revenue to support their working function.

Installations

Railway	Gauge
Anacortes Railway	457 mm (18 in)
Bicton Woodland Railway	457 mm (18 in)
See Fifteen-inch gauge railway	381 mm (15 in)
Geriatriezentrum Am Wienerwald Feldbahn	500 mm (19 ³⁄₄ in)
Jardin d'Acclimatation railway	500 mm (19 ³⁄₄ in)
Meadows and Lake Kathleen Railroad	457 mm (18 in)
Petit train d'Artouste	500 mm (19 ³⁄₄ in)
Royal Arsenal Railway	457 mm (18 in)
Sand Hutton Light Railway	457 mm (18 in)
Southern Fuegian Railway	500 mm (19 ³⁄₄ in)
Steeple Grange Light Railway	457 mm (18 in)
Tarn Light Railway	500 mm (19 ³⁄₄ in)^[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minimum gauge railways.

1 2 3 Heywood, A.P. (1974) [1881, Derby: Bemrose]. Minimum Gauge Railways. Turntable Enterprises. ISBN 0-902844-26-1.
↑ "TOY RAILWAY.". The Northern Standard (Darwin, NT: National Library of Australia). 8 December 1939. p. 15. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
↑ fr:Chemin de fer touristique du Tarn

Bibliography

Clayton, H. (1968). The Duffield Bank and Eaton Railways. Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-034-7.
Heywood, Arthur Percival (1974) [1898]. Minimum Gauge Railways (3rd ed.). Turntable Publications. ISBN 0-902844-26-1.
Household, Humphrey (1989). Narrow Gauge Railways: England and the Fifteen Inch. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0862995752.
Mosley, David; van Zeller, Peter (1986). Fifteen Inch Gauge Railways. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-8694-8.
Smithers, Mark (1995). Sir Arthur Heywood and the Fifteen Inch Gauge Railway. Plateway Press. ISBN 1-871980-22-4.

Track gauge (list)

Minimum gauge	15 in (381 mm) 400 mm (15 ³⁄₄ in) 18 in (457 mm) 500 mm (19 ³⁄₄ in)

Narrow gauge	2 foot and 600 mm 750 mm (2 ft 5 ¹⁄₂ in) 760 mm (2 ft 5 ¹⁵⁄₁₆ in) Bosnian gauge 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 3 ft 6 in/1,067 mm 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm), Scotch gauge List of narrow tram track gauges

Standard gauge	4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in/1,435 mm, Stephenson gauge List of standard gauge tram tracks

Broad gauge	1445 mm gauge 1,445 mm (4 ft 8 ⁷⁄₈ in) 4 ft 10 ⁷⁄₈ in (1,495 mm), Toronto 5 ft/1,524 mm and 1520 mm, Russian gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm), Irish gauge 1,668 mm (5 ft 5 ²¹⁄₃₂ in), Iberian gauge 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm), Indian gauge 7 ft ¹⁄₄ in (2,140 mm), Brunel gauge 3,000 mm (9 ft 10 ¹⁄₈ in), Breitspurbahn List of broad tram track gauges

Gauge differences	Bogie exchange Break-of-gauge Dual gauge Gauge conversion list Variable gauge

Categories	by country by imperial units by metric units by name lists of track gauges

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