Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
cog railway

cog railway

6.6
A railway for steep hills where a gear on the train fits into a toothed rail to prevent slipping
  • noun
  • /kɔg ˈreɪlweɪ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ferrocarril de cremallera
  • Tourists often take the cog railway to enjoy a scenic ride up the mountain.

Examples

  • From the station, take either the cog railway train, battery-powered taxis, or horse-drawn cabs in Zermatt.

    Blog text (21)

  • The cog railway ascends steep hills, providing breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape.

  • A cog railway runs up and down the western slope.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Suddenly we stood among bund-led hikers and tourists dressed in cotton resort wear who had just stepped off the cog railway into 38-degree temperatures with a 20-mile-an-hour wind.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Since Judy is a nurse, and since I plan to equip myself with elastic knee guards, I may disappear over the ridge of the hill with the Gordons in September, letting the cog railway chug along without me.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • We decided to ride the cog railway to reach the summit more easily.

Synonyms

rack railway
vscog railway
  • Specialized
8.1

A railway for steep hills where a gear on the train fits a central toothed rail to climb safely

is the same but uses more general words such as train instead of locomotive

Surface Forms

cog railway singular
cog railways plural

Morphology

cog + railway

The noun–noun compound is compositional: 'cog' modifies 'railway' to indicate a railway that uses cogs/gear teeth. A B1 learner who knows both words can infer it is a railway employing cogwheels (typically for steep slopes or extra traction), so the meaning is directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Cog railway comes from the train's cog — a toothed wheel like a gear — that fits into a toothed rail so the railway can grip and climb very steep hills. That's why the term means 'a railway designed for steep slopes'.