author
bart. Sir Arthur Percival Heywood
1849–1916
Best remembered as the pioneer of the 15-inch minimum-gauge railway, this Victorian baronet turned a country estate into a testing ground for practical engineering. His work helped shape the story of miniature and estate railways far beyond his own lifetime.
1 Audiobook
Minimum Gauge Railways
by bart. Sir Arthur Percival Heywood
About the author
Born on 25 December 1849, he was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Percival Heywood and later became the 3rd Baronet. He was educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge, and is chiefly remembered today for his experiments in railway design.
At his estate, Duffield Bank near Derby, he developed and promoted the idea of the 15-inch minimum-gauge railway for estate and light industrial use. He also wrote Minimum Gauge Railways, setting out his ideas in print and helping preserve the details of his work for later engineers and railway enthusiasts.
He died on 19 April 1916. Although he lived in the age of great main-line railways, his reputation rests on showing how small, efficiently designed railways could do serious work.