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| MRW Digest | 31 Oct 2007, 10:03 PM |
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 Model to Miniature to Narrow Gauge Where are the limits? Dom Greenop discusses the possibilities... I was an observer of a radio interview between my engineering society Chairman and the reporter, and the first statements issued went as follows: Reporter: "Well, here we are chatting to the Chairman of ESSMEE, who are running this model railway here at the Royal Bath and West Show... ..." Chairman: "Erm, miniature railway, please! Model railways belong on table-tops." Now while model railways aren't entirely devoted to table-tops (anything 0 gauge upwards can generally get put in the garden), and where it was a Model Engineering Society building and running the railway, the railway was being operated by miniature locomotives and rolling stock. Certainly some of the engineering that have been employed during construction of the railway is NOT modelling.  Ladybird brings a Royal train past the substantial bridge towards the station at the Royal Bath and West Show, 2007. (Dom Greenop) Likewise, at the other end of the scale, gauges like 15" are sometimes referred to as being 'narrow-gauge', and in some respects they are. However, is there any way in which we can draw any boundaries and say "that's one thing, that's another"? Defining any type of railway into a category has never been easy, regardless of size of the trains and gauge of the track. This is further compounded by many countries having different 'standard' gauges. However, we can go some way to define general areas and their approximate position. Going back to basics, 'miniature' is defined as 'being on a very small scale'. This insinuates that for something to be classed as 'miniature', it has be a scale-example of a larger prototype. So where do we fit in? 'Miniature railways' are generally defined as being between 7 ¼" and 12 ¼" gauge, model railways as being from about 2 ½" gauge downwards and narrow-gauge as being from 2' upwards, meaning that grey areas exist for gauges such as 3 ½", 5", and at the other end of the scale, 15" and 18". So perhaps if we look at this from a different angle – maybe the function of each of these categories? Alternatively can we provide any firm basis as to WHY these current boundaries came to exist, and are they still relevant? Model railways can be defined quite easily as an operator's hobby which fulfils his or her imagination, either in the form of a scale-model or freelance layout. Narrow-gauge railways are normally built to serve a purpose, either the carrying of passengers, freight or both. Notable examples are the Vale of Rheidol, Southwold and Leek and Manifold railways. Though preserved examples now only tend to carry passengers (bar demonstration freights and permanent way trains), they are still narrow-gauge as they are on a smaller gauge than the standard gauge. Miniature railways can become a problem here. Some miniature railways are/were built as 'freight' movers (for example Ravenglass, Romney, Moors Valley, Wolds Way Lavender), while others are built primarily for the enjoyment of the builder with the movement of passengers a secondary priority (many model engineering society railways), simply going round a circuit providing an amusement.  Silver Jubilee providing narrow-gauge motive power as a people-mover at the 1984 Liverpool Garden Festival. (Glen Fairweather)  A busy time at the East Somerset Model Engineers' operated Bath and West Railway, June 2007. (Dom Greenop) The lower boundary for the term 'miniature railway' can be defined as somewhere around 2 ½" gauge. This is suitable as in the model engineering/miniature railway world you have the passenger-carrying 2 ½" gauge, while for modellers, G63/Gauge 3 uses almost identical track. Historically, miniature have always focused around 7 ¼" gauge as its trademark gauge, mainly due to the popularity of 7 ¼" as a suitable gauge for exploring one's hobby. However, depending on your wealth (historically speaking), you may have had an estate railway or run an amusement railway, typically of 15" gauge. 15" gauge has existed for over a century, its history goes back as far as the middle of the Victorian era. Sir Arthur Heywood pioneered the 15" gauge, originally as a potential alternative to 18" for military railways, but also for estate purposes. Around the turn of the century, W.J. Basset-Lowke and Henry Greenly developed a range of locomotives and equipment to run on 15" gauge amusement lines at seaside resorts and other places around Europe. Cagney was a similar enterprise operating in the United States. Freight railways built primarily for point-to-point transport (coming under the narrow-gauge canopy) were installed at Duffield Bank, Eaton Hall, Ravenglass (as a development of the pleasure line as built by Basset-Lowke) and Romney, while pleasure lines using miniature near-scale locomotives were built at Blackpool, Southport and Rhyl among others.  A typical Heywood-style 15" narrow-gauge train. (Colin Peake) From the above comment, we can see that 15" gauge is in a similar position to 2 ½"; one track gauge providing two completely different functions. But then, we still have some lines above this gauge which still can be classified as ‘miniature’. The 20"/21" gauge railways at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Scarborough’s North Bay and the 18" Bicton Woodland railway are not narrow-gauge in a true sense, so these may also be considered the upper end of the category 'miniature'.  Ex-Woolwich Arsenal locomotive Carnegie hauls a train on the 18" Bicton Woodland Miniature Railway in 1990. (Glen Fairweather) We also have several railways which are smaller than 15" but also provide a purpose similar to that of a narrow-gauge railway. The 7 ¼" Moors Valley railway, while not a point-to-point railway, builds everything on a serious scale and to narrow-gauge principles. A similar thing can be said about the Swanley New Barn railway, while this and the 10 ¼" Rudyard Lake Railway provide a point-to-point service between the attraction at which they are situated and the car parks. The 7 ¼" gauge Wolds Way Lavender Railway actually provides a revenue-earning freight service, bringing in harvested lavender from the fields to the distillery and processing plant, using commercial equipment. A local 5" line to me takes grass cuttings and other garden waste from the required loading point to the composting area.  Wolds Way Lavender – a proper narrow gauge railway, but on 7 ¼” gauge rails. The wooden tubs to the left of the engine are lavender-carrying wagons. (Colin Peake) In conclusion, while the traditional boundaries have been established and discussed, it is increasingly evident that especially in recent years, the boundaries have been pushed increasingly so that it is now incredibly difficult to properly define a miniature railway as a strict miniature railway, unless scale-models are regularly used, such as at Great Cockrow. Many 'miniature railways' are now built in such a style and for such a purpose that they ought to be classed as "sub-narrow-gauge," especially where equipment by the likes of Roanoke, Exmoor Steam Railway and Moors Valley are evident. So while the traditional (and strict) boundaries of miniature railways are between 2 ½" and 15" gauges, don’t forget that some of the smaller gauges are seeing some revenue-earning applications akin to the stereotypical narrow-gauge railway. Times change, railways come and go, their application changes, and so must the way they are classified. Dom Greenop Miniature Railway World forum members are invited to reply to this Digest entry. Do you feel that railways should be catergorised by track gauge or by function and the ability to do the job they were designed for? Please reply to this topic. Your reply will be posted as soon as it has been checked by a Moderator. |
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Miniature Railway World Digest Edited by Colin Peake | |
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| Model to Miniature to Narrow Gauge · Miniature Railway World Digest | |
9:29 PM Nov 26
