This phenomenon originated in the USSR and was greatly developed in Soviet times.
The world's first children's railway was opened in Gorky Park, Moscow,[1] in 1932.
At the breakup of the USSR, 52 children's railways existed in the country.
Many children's railways are still functioning in post-Soviet states and Eastern European countries.
Though few exceptions exist, most children's railways built in the Eastern Bloc have a track gauge of at least 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)[2] and can carry full size narrow gauge rolling stock.