narrow gauge
1
6.8
- noun
- Specialized
:
vía estrecha
- Jay Gould, president of the former, learned that the Texas and St. Louis, owned by James Paramore, was licensed to build a narrow gauge line through Arkansas and so built a regular gauge line largely parallel to his competitor's route, running south to Helena, with the idea of limiting Paramore's business.
- narrow gauge railway
- narrow gauge railroad
- narrow gauge track
Examples
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Tourists flock to the area to experience the unique charm of the narrow gauge train ride.
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For profitability, the G&F needed to reach Augusta, and ultimately opted for trackage rights over a section of the former narrow-gauge Augusta Southern Railway, an affiliate of the mighty Southern Railway.
Academic text (2007) -
A minute later, I noticed narrow-gauge tracks in the grass.
Fiction book (1992) -
"Behind the canteen and the narrow-gauge railroad tracks."
Fiction book (1992) -
He wrote to me saying they had a narrow-gauge railway system and badly needed more engines and rolling stock, but only the Japanese had the right kind, so he was going to do without.
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We took a little narrow-gauge railway up to Leopoldville and then continued upriver, but not on a steamer.
Academic text (1990) -
Get to Lauterbrunnen, the village in the valley, by narrow-gauge train from Interlaken Ost station in the Bernese Highlands.
Blog text (31) -
Near Lijiang, just below Tiger Leaping Gorge, it isn't wider than a narrow-gauge railroad.
Fiction book (2001) -
The scenic route included a ride on a narrow gauge railway that twists through the mountains.
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This region is famous for its historic narrow gauge lines that offer stunning views of the countryside.
Antonyms
- Specialized
1
3.5
The distance between the inside edges of two rails used by most railways
How Wide
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is compositionally predictable: 'narrow' (not wide) modifies 'gauge' (a measure of width/size), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a smaller-than-standard track width. Although somewhat technical, the lexical logic is transparent and parallels equivalent constructions in many languages.
Etymology
The noun narrow gauge comes from a simple image: narrow means small and gauge means the 'distance between the rails'. So a narrow gauge railway has its rails set closer than usual, and that name describes smaller, cheaper lines that can fit tight curves in mountains or mines.