The purpose of this website is to bring together in one place all of the miniature railroads that currently operate in the US and Canada. While it may seem like a haphazard listing, there is some criteria that I have followed.
The basic idea is that the engineer must be able to sit inside the locomotive or the passengers in the cars, not straddling like with live steam. The minimum track size is 12” but there are some exceptions. I am not including MTC G-12's or the Rio Grande portable trains.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are some standard gauge trains that I have included. To be included, they must not be, or have ever been part of a railroad. Basically, to be listed, it must have been purposely built to serve the park that it is located at or near. The majority of the standard gage tourists railroads are not listed.
Two and three foot gage is well represented, but there are some missing. If the railroad is a modern recreation of the railroad that was there originally, then it is not included. The same goes for railroads that have always been there such as the East Broad Top.
I have spent a lot of time over the past few years gathering information on all of the railroads listed. I also have an extensive photo collection to go along with it. These listings in no way are perfect, so expect some mistakes. I will do my best to correct them, but please be patient if I do not update the site regularly.
PHOTOS: Some of the photos on the site are ones that I have taken over the years, but the vast majority have been found on the web while searching for railroads. These have come from commercial and individual sites. While I try to give credit where credit is due, this is not always possible due to the volume of the photos I have collected. If your photo is on the site, please let me know and I will give you credit for it and a link to your site, or, at your request, I will remove the photo from the site. Again, if you own a photo and do not want it posted, please let me know and I will remover it. Please include as much detail as possible.
Please enjoy the list, I enjoyed putting it all together.
Mike Thidemann
Lenexa, KS