narrow gauge

noun

1. gauge15

narrow gauge

noun

1. a railway track with a smaller distance between the lines than the standard gauge of 56 1 2 in

adjective

1. of, relating to, or denoting a railway with a narrow gauge

Other Word Forms

• narrow-gauge especially in technical use, narrow-gage adjective
• narrow-gauged especially in technical use, narrow-gaged adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of narrow gauge¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

For almost a century the narrow gauge railway hauled slate through Snowdonia before it became the world's first preserved railway in 1951.

From BBC

The car was used until narrow gauge freight service on Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad stopped in 1967.

From Washington Times

“While his competitors were building rail lines east and west, Palmer proposed a narrow gauge from Denver along the Rocky Mountains southward to El Paso, Texas and eventually Mexico.”

From Washington Times

You can remind him that people suffer across the world while he studies the history and politics of the narrow gauge.

From Scientific American

It uses an old-fashioned French narrow gauge, and is so old that when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Hanoi in February for a summit with U.S.

From Reuters