Minimum gauge railways have a gauge of less than or , most commonly , , or . The notion of minimum gauge railways was originally developed by estate railways

British narrow gauge railways

There were more than a thousand British narrow gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways...

 and by the French company of Decauville

Decauville

The Decauville manufacturing company was founded by Paul Decauville , a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow gauge track fastened to steel sleepers; this track was portable and could be disassembled and transported...

 for industrial railway

Industrial railway

An industrial railway is a type of railway that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics or military site...

s.

The term was originally conceived by Sir Arthur Percival Heywood  who used it in 1874 to describe the principle behind his Duffield Bank Railway

Duffield Bank Railway

The Duffield Bank Railway was built by Sir Arthur Percival Heywood in the grounds of his house on the hillside overlooking Duffield, Derbyshire in 1874. Although the Ordnance Survey map circa 1880 does not show the railway itself, it does show two tunnels and two signal posts.-Overview:It was more...

, distinguishing it from a "Narrow Gauge" railway. Having previously built a small railway of 9 inch gauge, he settled on as the minimum that he felt was practical. An important feature was that it was intended to be easy to lay on, for instance, a battlefield.

The major distinction between a miniature railway

Ridable miniature railway

A ridable miniature railway is a ground-level, large scale model railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are models of full-sized railway locomotives .-Overview:Typically they have a rail track gauge between and , though both larger and...

 (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 , for example the Wicksteed Park Railway. There are also minimum gauge railways running on extremely narrow track as small as gauge, for example the Rudyard Lake Steam Railway

Rudyard Lake Steam Railway

The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway is a minimum gauge railway and the third railway of any gauge to run along the side of Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire. The railway runs for on the track bed of an old standard gauge North Staffordshire Railway line. After the NSR line closed down, a small narrow gauge...

. 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.

A general aspect about minimum gauge railways is that the loading gauge

Loading gauge

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

 is maximized, which is to say the dimension of the equipment is made as large as possible to the track gauge, while still providing enough stability to keep it from tipping over.

List of Minimum Gauge Railways

Anacortes Railway, Anse (Chemin de fer Touristique d'), Artouste (Petit train d') Petit train d'Artouste The Petit train d'Artouste is a narrow gauge tourist railway situated in the French Pyrenees close to the Spanish border and some south of the town of Pau... , Assiniboine Valley Railway Assiniboine Valley Railway Assiniboine Valley Railway is a private 1:7.5 scale minimum gauge railway located in the community of Charleswood near Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.... , Bicton Woodland Railway Bicton Woodland Railway The Bicton Woodland Railway is a narrow gauge railway running in gardens in the grounds of Bicton House near Budleigh Salterton in Devon.The line was built in 1962 as a tourist attraction for visitors to the house... , Bure Valley Railway Bure Valley Railway The Bure Valley Railway is a minimum gauge heritage railway in Norfolk, within The Broads National Park.The railway runs from Wroxham to Aylsham and is Norfolk's longest railway of less than standard gauge. It uses both steam and diesel locomotives. There are intermediate halts at Brampton,... , Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway is a railway built in 1948 in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire operating between Cleethorpes Leisure Centre and behind Pleasure Island/buck beck. It was originally built to a slightly smaller gauge.-History:... , Coronado Railroad, Duffield Bank Railway Duffield Bank Railway The Duffield Bank Railway was built by Sir Arthur Percival Heywood in the grounds of his house on the hillside overlooking Duffield, Derbyshire in 1874. Although the Ordnance Survey map circa 1880 does not show the railway itself, it does show two tunnels and two signal posts.-Overview:It was more... , Eaton Hall Railway Eaton Hall Railway The Eaton Hall Railway was an early gauge narrow gauge estate railway built in 1896 at Eaton Hall in Cheshire.It was built for the Duke of Westminster by Sir Arthur Percival Heywood, who had pioneered the fifteen inch gauge with his Duffield Bank Railway, and connected the hall to the GWR... , Fairbourne Railway Fairbourne Railway The Fairbourne Railway is a gauge miniature railway running for from the village of Fairbourne on the Mid-Wales coast, alongside the beach to the end of a peninsula at Barmouth Ferry, where there is a connection with a pedestrian ferry across the Mawddach estuary to the seaside resort of... 1895-1916: 1916-1986: 1986–Present: Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Branch Railway Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Branch Railway The Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Branch Railway was the inspiration of Roland Emett. A fictional narrow-gauge railway with a whimsical view of British rural life and embodying Emett's typical fanciful mechanics, it echoed the similar works of Heath Robinson and Rube Goldberg.The railway began as... Hesston Steam Museum  Isle of Mull Railway Isle of Mull Railway The Isle of Mull Railway is a gauge line, long, which ran from the ferry terminal at Craignure to Torosay Castle, on the Isle of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. Originally it was known as the Mull and West Highland Railway. The line opened in 1983 and closed in October 2010. A limited... , Kirklees Light Railway Kirklees Light Railway The Kirklees Light Railway is a long gauge minimum gauge railway in Kirklees metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire first opened in October 1991... , Lappa Valley Steam Railway Lappa Valley Steam Railway The Lappa Valley Steam Railway is a minimum gauge railway located near Newquay in Cornwall. The railway functions as a tourist attraction, running from Benny Halt to East Wheal Rose , where there is a leisure area.-Treffry's Tramway:... , Meadows and Lake Kathleen Railroad,

Ohsabanan Sweden, Perrygrove Railway Perrygrove Railway The Perrygrove Railway is a minimum gauge railway of gauge. It is a private heritage railway at Perrygrove Farm in the Royal Forest of Dean near Coleford, Gloucestershire, England... , Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is a minimum gauge heritage railway in Cumbria, England. The line runs from Ravenglass to Dalegarth Station near Boot in the valley of Eskdale, in the Lake District... , Redwood Valley Railway Redwood Valley Railway The Redwood Valley Railway is a ridable miniature railroad in Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, California . It was established in 1952 by Erich Thomsen, and has expanded to 1.25 miles of track and over 160,000 passengers a year.... , Riverside and Great Northern Railway Riverside and Great Northern Railway The Riverside and Great Northern Railway is a heritage railroad in Wisconsin.It operates train excursions on its 15 inch gauge track located in Wisconsin Dells... , Rhyl Miniature Railway Rhyl Miniature Railway The Rhyl Miniature Railway is a gauge miniature railway line located in Rhyl on the North Wales Coast. The line runs in a circle around a boating lake near the promenade, to the west of the town centre... , Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, Rudyard Lake Steam Railway Rudyard Lake Steam Railway The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway is a minimum gauge railway and the third railway of any gauge to run along the side of Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire. The railway runs for on the track bed of an old standard gauge North Staffordshire Railway line. After the NSR line closed down, a small narrow gauge... , Ruislip Lido Railway Ruislip Lido Railway The Ruislip Lido Railway is a gauge miniature railway around Ruislip Lido in Ruislip, west of central London. Running from the main station at Woody Bay by the lido's beach, on a track around the reservoir, the railway passes through Ruislip Woods to Ruislip Lido station near the Water's Edge... , Sand Hutton Light Railway, Scarborough North Bay Railway, Sons of Gwalia Firewood Tramway, Southern Fuegian Railway, Steeple Grange Light Railway Steeple Grange Light Railway The Steeple Grange Light Railway is a heritage railway at Wirksworth in Derbyshire, UK. It uses industrial locomotives and rolling stock from disused mines, quarries, and steelworks around the country.-The line:... , Tarn Light Railway Tarn Light Railway The Chemin de Fer Touristique du Tarn , or Tarn Light Railway, is a narrow-gauge light railway near the village of Saint-Lieux-lès-Lavaur, in the vicinity of Saint-Sulpice in the department of Tarn, France... , , Royal Arsenal 18 inch Railway, Wells Harbour Railway Wells Harbour Railway The Wells Harbour Railway is a gauge railway at Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, United Kingdom. It is long, running between Wells Harbour and Pinewoods. Both steam and diesel locomotives are used.-History:... , Wells and Walsingham Light Railway Wells and Walsingham Light Railway The Wells and Walsingham Light Railway is a gauge heritage railway in Norfolk, England running between the coastal town of Wells and Walsingham which is further inland... ,

See also

• Feldbahn
  Feldbahn
  A Feldbahn is the German term for a narrow gauge railway, usually not open to the public, which in its simplest form provides for the transportation of agricultural, forestry and industrial raw materials such as wood, peat, stone, earth and sand...
  
  
• Heritage railway
  Heritage railway
  thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
  
  
• Light railway
  Light railway
  Light railway refers to a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail". This usually means the railway uses lighter weight track, and is more steeply graded and tightly curved to avoid civil engineering costs...
  
  

• Narrow gauge railway
• Miniature railway

• Industrial railway
  Industrial railway
  An industrial railway is a type of railway that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics or military site...
  
  
• Ridable miniature railway
  Ridable miniature railway
  A ridable miniature railway is a ground-level, large scale model railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are models of full-sized railway locomotives .-Overview:Typically they have a rail track gauge between and , though both larger and...