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What is "narrow gauge"

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
narrow gauge
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ At first glance there appears to be a preponderance of narrow gauge or what I would call miniature railways.
▪ At the Port Lilla was placed back on narrow gauge track for the journey up to the Quarry.
▪ He also built a narrow gauge railway which ran round the whole estate.
▪ It is the latest shot in the battle to re-construct the 23-mile narrow gauge line.
▪ The car rattled along, crossing the myriad narrow gauge loco tracks that ran between the factories lining the route.
▪ Then the narrow gauge became the standard Voice over A rail system based on a horse's behind.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Narrow gauge

Narrow \Nar"row\ (n[a^]r"r[-o]), a. [Compar. Narrower (n[a^]r"r[-o]*[~e]r); superl. Narrowest.] [OE. narwe, naru, AS. nearu; akin to OS. naru, naro.]

  1. Of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow street; a narrow hem.

    Hath passed in safety through the narrow seas.
    --Shak.

  2. Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.

    The Jews were but a small nation, and confined to a narrow compass in the world.
    --Bp. Wilkins.

  3. Having but a little margin; having barely sufficient space, time, or number, etc.; close; near[5]; -- with special reference to some peril or misfortune; as, a narrow shot; a narrow escape; a narrow miss; a narrow majority.
    --Dryden.

  4. Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow circumstances.

  5. Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a narrow mind; narrow views. ``A narrow understanding.''
    --Macaulay.

  6. Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.

    A very narrow and stinted charity.
    --Smalridge.

  7. Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.

    But first with narrow search I must walk round This garden, and no corner leave unspied.
    --Milton.

  8. (Phon.) Formed (as a vowel) by a close position of some part of the tongue in relation to the palate; or (according to Bell) by a tense condition of the pharynx; -- distinguished from wide; as [=e] ([=e]ve) and [=oo] (f[=oo]d), etc., from [i^] ([i^]ll) and [oo^] (f[oo^]t), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect]13.

    Note: Narrow is not unfrequently prefixed to words, especially to participles and adjectives, forming compounds of obvious signification; as, narrow-bordered, narrow-brimmed, narrow-breasted, narrow-edged, narrow-faced, narrow-headed, narrow-leaved, narrow-pointed, narrow-souled, narrow-sphered, etc.

    Narrow gauge. (Railroad) See Note under Gauge, n., 6.

Wiktionary
narrow gauge

alt. (context rail transport English) A railway gauge (distance between the two lines) that is less than the standard gauge (often quoted as 56 inches) n. (context rail transport English) A railway gauge (distance between the two lines) that is less than the standard gauge (often quoted as 56 inches)

WordNet
narrow gauge

n. a railroad track (or its width) narrower than the standard 56.5 inches

Usage examples of "narrow gauge".

There were railway tracks of very narrow gauge coming out from the hole, running along the horizontal floor of the fissure then turning to the south where they dipped from view.

They stopped before they reached the first tunnel on the Narrow Gauge Road, and Sandy got out to squint through the view finder.

But it is possible that they will be used on a rough-and-ready narrow gauge rail connection into the Thueringerwald hill country, which is a source of both ore and timber.