Word.ws English Dictionary

one engine in steam

one engine in steam phrase: a principle in railway signalling where only one train or locomotive is allowed to run on a section of single-track line, such as a branch line, at any one time.

Phrase

one engine in steam

  1. (UK) A principle in railway signalling where only one train or locomotive is allowed to run on a section of single-track line, such as a branch line, at any one time.
    • There are eight 4-wheel coaches of the open toastrack type, but provided with roofs, and during the holiday season, usually beginning at Whitsuntide, trains are run as required on the one-engine-in-steam principle.1941 July, “The Isle of Man Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 315
    • A change seems likely on the Axminster-Lyme Regis branch [...]. We hear also that one-engine-in-steam operation will probably be introduced on this line.1960 March, “Talking of Trains: S.R. branch report”, in Trains Illustrated, page 135

Questions about one engine in steam

What does one engine in steam mean?
One engine in steam means a principle in railway signalling where only one train or locomotive is allowed to run on a section of single-track line, such as a branch line, at any one time.
What part of speech is one engine in steam?
One engine in steam is a phrase.

Words near one engine in steam in the dictionary

  1. One Directioner
  2. One Directioners
  3. one drop
  4. one eighth
  5. one eighty out
  6. one engine in steam
  7. one eyed jack
  8. one eyed jacks
  9. one fail swoop
  10. one fat lady
  11. one fell swoop

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: one engine in steam (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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