Temporary Way
The Permanent Way is so called because there is often a "Temporary Way" used for construction purposes and which is replaced by the "Permanent Way" when construction of the right of way nears completion.
The actual gauge of this temporary way is poorly documented, but it would generally be narrower than the permanent gauge.
In restricted spaces such as tunnels, the temporary way might be double track, even though the tunnel will ultimately be single track. Thus the Airport Rail Link in Sydney had construction trains of 900 mm (2 ft 11 7⁄16 in) gauge which were replaced by the permanent tracks of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) gauge.
The narrower the temporary way, the quicker it can be built. During World War II, it was proposed to expedite a Yunnan-Burma railway using a tiny "toy" 1 ft 3.3in gauge, since such a small gauge can have the tightest of curves in difficult terrain.
The professional body for track designers and installers is called the Permanent Way Institution.
Read more about this topic: Track Gauge
Famous quotes containing the word temporary:
“When the doctrine of allegiance to party can utterly up-end a man’s moral constitution and make a temporary fool of him besides, what excuse are you going to offer for preaching it, teaching it, extending it, perpetuating it? Shall you say, the best good of the country demands allegiance to party? Shall you also say it demands that a man kick his truth and his conscience into the gutter, and become a mouthing lunatic, besides?”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Good parties create a temporary youthfulness.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)