Rollbocks, sometimes called transporter trailers, are narrow gauge railway trucks or bogies that allow a standard gauge wagon to 'piggyback' on a narrow-gauge line. The Vevey system enables a coupled train of standard gauge wagons to be automatically loaded or rolled onto Rollbocks, so that the train can then continue through a change of gauge.
Standard gauge goods wagon (freight car) on Rollbock, 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) gauge
Vevey system Rollbock in Broc-fabrique, Switzerland
Timber wagon on rollbocks
Goods van on a Rollbock
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, leading to passengers having to change trains and freight requiring transloading or transshipping; this can add delays, costs, and inconvenience to travel on such a route.
A cartoon depicting the "horrors of goods transfer" at the break of gauge at Gloucester in 1843
Bogie-exchange station in Ukraine
Variable gauge axles on a Spanish train designed for intercity travel to France
A train on 1435 mm standard-gauge track leaving Russia. It is bound for Manzhouli, China, having replaced its 1520 mm-gauge bogies with standard-gauge bogies at the bogie exchange yard in the distance.