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 gauge, he settled on gauge as the minimum that he felt was practical.
| Location | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bush Mill Railway |  Australia | Port Arthur | Closed | |
 Austria | Vienna | [2] | ||
| Prater Liliputbahn | Austria | Vienna | ||
| Bear Creek Park Train |  Canada | Surrey, British Columbia | [3] | |
| Pindal Electric Tramway | Canada | Formerly in Montreal | ||
| Springbank Express | Canada | London, Ontario | [4] [5] | |
| 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 | (defunct, 1982–1992 - park still operating) | ||
| Bellevue Park Railway | UK | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Closed 1950 | |
| Blackpool Zoo miniature railway | UK | Lancashire | ||
| Blakesley Miniature Railway | 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 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 | ||
| 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 | ||
| Oakwood Theme Park | UK | Narberth, Pembrokeshire | ||
| Paradise Park | UK | Hayle, Cornwall | ||
| Paultons Park | UK | Ower, Romsey, Hampshire | ||
| Perrygrove Railway | UK | |||
| 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 |  USA | Illinois | [13] | |
| Amusement Rides | USA | City Park, Iowa City | [14] [15] | |
| B.A.D. Great Northern Railroad | USA | California | ||
| Eden Springs Park Railroad) | USA | Benton Harbor, Michigan | [16] | |
| Gage Park Railroad | USA | Gage Park, Topeka, Kansas | ||
| Glenwood, South Park & Pacific Railroad | USA | California | [17] | |
| Hillcrest & Wahtoke Steam Railroad | USA | Reedley, California | [18] | |
| Joshua Tree & Southern GSD | USA | California | [19] | |
| Kansas City Northern Miniature Railroad | USA | Kansas City, Missouri | [20] | |
| Laurel Run Railroad | USA | Pennsylvania | [21] | |
| Little Toot Railroad | USA | Rough and Tumble Engineers Historical Association, Pennsylvania | ||
| Look Park | USA | Northampton, Massachusetts | ||
| Miniature Railway at Silver Lake, Ohio | USA | Silver Lake, Ohio | Defunct | |
| Miniature Train at Monarch Park | USA | Oil City, Pennsylvania | Defunct | |
| Nickel Plate (Miniature) Railroad | Nickel Plate Railroad | USA | California | |
| Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation | USA | Ohio | ||
| Orland, Newville and Pacific Railroad | USA | California | (operating) | |
| USA | McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, Scottsdale, Arizona | [22] (separate railway named Scottsdale Live Steamers also present) (operating) | ||
| Phoenix & Holly Railroad | USA | Oregon | [23] | |
| Pint-Sized Pufferbelly | USA | Strasburg Rail Road, Strasburg Township, Pennsylvania | [24] (operating) | |
| Redwood Valley Railway | USA | Tilden Regional Park, California | [25] (operating) | |
| Riverside and Great Northern Railway | USA | Wisconsin | ||
| Riverview & Twin Lakes Railroad | USA | Wyoming | ||
| Safari Train | USA | Milwaukee County Zoo, Milwaukee, Wisconsin | (operating) | |
| Sonoma TrainTown Railroad | USA | California | [26] (operating) | |
| Sullivan Railroad | USA | Horseheads, New York | [27] | |
| Tiny Town Railroad | USA | Colorado | ||
| Waterman & Western Railroad | USA | Illinois | [28] |