What is a "Minor Railway"?
Standard Gauge Railways - Narrow Gauge Railways - Miniature Railways - Tramways - Cliff Railways
This Web Site provides news and up to date information to the book Minor Railways (details below), now in its 36th year of publication.
What is a "Minor Railway"? As far as this Web Site and the book Minor Railways is concerned a "Minor Railway" is a Standard Gauge Railway, Narrow Gauge Railway, Miniature Railway (7¼" gauge or greater & ground level), Tramway or Cliff Railway - which offers rides to the general public and is operated mainly for leisure purposes. The range of such railways is enormous - from the Severn Valley Railway and the Ffestiniog Railway, to railways in theme parks, garden centres, zoos and small circuits of track operated by local a Model Engineering Society. It is true to say the range of "Minor Railways" is so wide, that the only thing they have in common are wheels running on rails!
They are all listed in Minor Railways and there are over 510 of them! Details are given to show: name, location, gauge, layout, length, OS grid reference and telephone number. For more details of Minor Railways see the Publications page of this Web Site.