narrow gauge

American  

noun

1. gauge15

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narrow gauge British  

noun

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

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adjective

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

Other Word Forms

• narrow-gauge adjective
• narrow-gauged adjective

Etymology

Origin of narrow gauge

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

“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 • Sep. 7, 2020

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

From Scientific American • Jul. 6, 2020

While narrow gauge railroads were cheaper to build, there was one major downside to a three-foot-gauge railroad: it was incompatible with most other railroads.

From Washington Post • Sep. 20, 2018

A narrow gauge railway runs between Leadhills in south Lanarkshire and the village.

From BBC • Aug. 23, 2016

The ordinary trains make about fifteen miles an hour, Japan having unfortunately adopted narrow gauge in early days and going on the well-known principle of safety first.

From Letters from China and Japan by Dewey, John