Skip to main content
siding

siding

2 6.7
A short track beside the main track where trains wait
  • noun
  • /ˈsaɪdɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : apartadero
  • It's a railroad siding.

Examples

  • The trains carrying the negotiators pulled up in a siding in Kompien Forest, not too far from Ratund on the Iron River.

  • We're on a dead-end siding.

  • - Eddie, this system is designed so that I can get everyone out of our way and onto the siding.

  • 'Animals now waiting for unloading on east end siding.' - Hello, Tony.

  • Is that boxcar still on the siding?

  • Get onto the Bellport siding.

  • The mistake directed a freight train off the main line and onto a siding, where it struck a stationary train.

    Academic text (2007)
  • From the west came the sound of a switch engine shunting cars to a siding, a train being assembled for the long night haul to the border.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • From Wisconsin arrived a trainload of dairy cattle, making a stop at the Moss Agate siding en route to the ballyhooed new tool at White Sulphur Springs.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Trains often stop on the siding to let faster trains pass by.

Synonyms

sidetrack
vssiding
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A short extra track beside the main line used to hold trains or let others pass

has identical meaning but is the main listed term
turnout
vssiding
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A short side track where trains stop or pass each other

shares function but the key is the preferred general term
railroad siding
vssiding
  • Specialized
1 4.6

A short extra track beside the main track where trains stop to let other trains pass

is the same idea but expressed by the main term
spur track
vssiding
  • Specialized
7.4

A short rail line that turns off a main line to reach a factory or warehouse

focuses on storage and passing rather than providing industrial access

Antonyms

7 3.2

The most important railway route used by trains

Compounds

railroad siding
  • Specialized
1 4.6

A short extra track beside the main track where trains stop to let other trains pass

How Long

loop-line
  • Specialized
8.2
spur
  • Specialized
10 7.0
siding
  • Specialized
2 6.7

Surface Forms

siding singular
sidings plural

Morphology

siding = side (transparent) = side + ing

This sense is a straightforward extension of 'side' to mean a track located at the side of the main line.

Etymology

Siding comes from the word side ('to the side' or 'at the edge') plus the ending -ing that makes it a thing. So a railway siding is a short track at the side of the main line where trains can wait or let others pass.