rack railway

noun

1. cog railway.

rack railway

noun

1. a steep mountain railway having a middle rail fitted with a rack that engages a pinion on the locomotive to provide traction Also calledcog railway

Word History and Origins

Origin of rack railway¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

In high season, the rack railway takes thousands of tourists up there every single day, all of them intent on the ultimate shot.

From BBC

A rack railway carries tens of thousands of people up to the spot each year.

From BBC

Other definite links Sodor's Culdee Fell Railway is a rack railway - so steep that the trains have cogs underneath which catch on a toothed rack running up between the rails for extra grip.

From BBC

Here was the very place for a rack railway on some system like Abt's, it seemed to me.

From Project Gutenberg