loading gauges

Noun

loading gauge (plural loading gauges)

1. (UK) The maximum permitted height and width for a rail vehicle, governed by clearances in tunnels, under bridges and past lineside structures.
   • In Russia, where experiments on a considerable scale have been made with condensing, the railways have the considerable advantage of a loading gauge 17 ft. high (the biggest in the world), as compared with the British 13 ft. or slightly over.1946 January and February, “The Why and The Wherefore: Condensing Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, page 62
2. A physical structure, often a metal frame above a railroad track, to check the maximum height and width of a vehicle.