sand drag
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.06 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A pile of sand or earth at the end of a siding or bay platform, intended to stop trains that overrun or pass through trap points set for a siding.
British usage
Example Sentences
- "Sand drags are usually laid in as an extension of trap sidings or of lines from catch-points. The rails are boxed in for some distance on either side, and the box is filled with sand, or, preferably, coarse gravel, the intention being, as the name implies, that the sand will act as a drag, and help bring the runaway train or vehicles to rest before they derail and cause serious damage."
- "The brakes were applied immediately, but the engine ran into a sand drag at approximately 20 m.p.h., plunged down the embankment, and turned over on its side at the bottom."
- "Should any driver attempt to pass the Belmont starter signals at danger, he would find his train in the sand drag."
Usage
- British usage