Minimum-gauge railways have a

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

of most commonly , , , , , or . The notion of minimum-gauge

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s was originally developed by estate railways and the French company of Decauville for light railways, trench railways,

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

, and

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

applications.

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. The original text of Heywood's article defining minimum gauge railways is available online. In general, minimum-gauge railways maximize their

loading gauge A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...

, 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 South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

the Semaphore to

Fort Glanville Conservation Park Fort Glanville Conservation Park is a protected area located in the Australian state of South Australia located in Semaphore Park, a seaside suburb of Adelaide consisting of a functional 19th century fort listed on the South Australian Heritag ...

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 The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway is a ridable miniature railway and the third railway of any gauge to run along the side of Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire, England. Overview The railway runs for on the track bed of an old standard gauge North St ...

. 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

Large amusement railways

References

Bibliography