Gauntlet track

For other uses, see Interlace.
Triple gauntlet track at Kaufungen, Germany. Wider mainline trains go down the centre; narrower trams switch either to the left, or right, to be closer to the appropriate platform. Beyond the station, the rails return to single track.

Gauntlet track or interlaced track, also gantlet track (AE) is an arrangement in which railway tracks run parallel on a single track bed and are interlaced (i.e., overlapped) in such a way that only one pair of rails can be used at any time. Since this requires only slightly more width than a single track, all rails can be carried on the same crossties/sleepers. Trains run on the pair of rails appropriate to their direction, track gauge or loading gauge.

The term gauntlet refers to the expression running the gauntlet, which means running between two confining rows of adversaries.[1][2]

  1. ^ Garner, Bryan (27 August 2009). "gantlet; gauntlet". Garner's Modern American Usage (3 ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-538275-4.
  2. ^ "gantlope, n.". Oxford English Dictionary (2 ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 1989. gata lane... + lopp course