Railroad switch
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A railroad switch, turnout, or points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off.
A right-hand railroad switch with point indicator pointing to right
Large stations may have hundreds of switches (Frankfurt Central Station, Germany).
Abt switch used in the 1895-built Dresden Funicular Railway (photo of 1985)
A railway worker operating a manual switch at a rail yard in Britain during World War I
Rack railway
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A rack railway is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail. This al
Railroad switch
…unaffected by the exchange. At dual gauge turntables, a similar arrangement is used to move the narrow-gauge track from one side to a central position. Rack-railway switches are as varied as rack-railway technologies. Where use of the rack is optional, as on the Zentralbahn in Switzerland or the West Coast Wilderness…
The Pilatus Railway is the steepest rack railway in the world, with a maximum gradient of 48% and an average gradient of 35%.
Blenkinsop rack and pinion with teeth on outer side of one rail only
The Marsh rack and pinion system
The Riggenbach rack system