break of gauge

break of gauge (plural breaks of gauge)

1. (rail transport) an occurrence where a railway with one track gauge meets another railway of a different gauge, thus requiring transhipment of goods and passengers, or a change of bogies on the train.
   • 1960 May, “Talking of Trains: News in brief”, in Trains Illustrated, page 265:

     The first through consignment ever to travel to Russia by way of the Eastern Region's Harwich-Zeebrugge train ferry - two tons of furniture and other household items - left London early in March on a 1,850-mile journey to Moscow; [...] being transferred to a Russian wagon at the Polish frontier because of the break of gauge.

• break-of-gauge

• break-of-gauge station