"The story of miniature railways began with the construction of large model locomotives. Some were built to publicize the work of manufacturers of full-size equipment. Others were built by skilled machinists for their own amusement. It was some time before the first complete miniature railways were constructed with track, rolling stock and all other paraphernalia needed to create a working railway system, but once the possibilities were widely understood the number of railways steadily increased. Since the last quarter of the nineteenth century they have been a feature of life on country estates and in many private gardens."