switch engine

noun

Railroads.

1. a locomotive for switching rolling stock in a yard.

Word History and Origins

Origin of switch engine¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

Lawyers for the British claimants say VW installed software which was designed to detect when vehicles were being tested and switch engines to a cleaner mode in an attempt to "cheat clean air laws".

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It’s similar to the way Union Pacific Railroad controls switch engines in its rail yards, he said.

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Dozens of signs next to the busiest main roads into London instruct drivers to switch engines off when stationary to reduce emissions.

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He heard a switch engine in the Southern Pacific yards discharging steam in shrill dry spurts.

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VW admitted last September that 482,000 of its diesel vehicles in the US were fitted with defeat device software to switch engines to a cleaner mode while they were being tested.

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