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cable railway

American

noun

a railway on which the cars are pulled by a moving cable under the roadway.

cable railway British

noun

a railway on which individual cars are drawn along by a strong cable or metal chain operated by a stationary motor

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cable railway

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

To reach it, many would ride on the funicular - a type of cable railway - which had a stop just for hotel residents.

From BBC • Jul. 28, 2025

A family in the U.K. has one of the country’s smallest funicular railways – a type of cable railway system on an incline – at their home.

From Fox News • Jan. 8, 2022

The funicular, or cable railway built on an incline, has a storied past.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 1, 2017

Once a buzzing, wealthy suburb with its own cable railway, it is now pockmarked with shuttered businesses and boarded-up homes.

From Washington Post • Aug. 22, 2017

A cable railway would answer the purpose to perfection, and the cost of running the steam motor would be insignificant, owing to the amount of wood and coal found within easy reach.

From Alone with the Hairy Ainu or, 3,800 miles on a pack saddle in Yezo and a cruise to the Kurile Islands. by Landor, A. H. Savage

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023