Re: [NSW] Gauntlet Track

[David Johnson <trainman@ozemail.com.au>]

MattyQ wrote:

> Eddie Oliver <eoliver@efs.mq.edu.au> wrote in message
> 394E096E.A8AE9DE5@efs.mq.edu.au">news:394E096E.A8AE9DE5@efs.mq.edu.au...
> > It is really a misrepresentation to label the weighbridges as "gauntlet
> > track" in the normal sense, since that entails NO pointwork; in the
> > weighbridge cases, there IS pointwork to select whether a train goes
> > over the "weigh" rails or the "non-weigh" rails.
> >
> > Eddie
>
> I'm not sure if pointwork really is the distinguishing factor here. I think
> the weighbridges are gauntlet track for the mere fact that the two tracks
> laterally (not a spelling error) "overlap" each other.

Overlap, as in a glove?

>From www.dictionary.com:
gaunt·let1 also gant·let (gôntlt, gänt-).
  n.

         1.A protective glove worn with medieval armor.
         2.A protective glove with a flared cuff, used in manual labor, in
certain sports, and for
            driving.
         3.A challenge: throw down the gauntlet; take up the gauntlet.
         4.A dress glove cuffed above the wrist.


  [Middle English from Old French gantelet, diminutive of gant, glove from
Frankish *want.]

       Word History: In the first and second editions of The American Heritage
Dictionary
       Usage Notes explained why the spelling gauntlet is acceptable for both
gauntlet1 and
       gauntlet2. Such has not always been the case. The story of gauntlet1, as
in to throw
       down the gauntlet, is unexciting: it comes from the Old French word
gantelet, a
       diminutive of gant, “glove.” From the time of its appearance in Middle
English (in a work
       composed in 1449), the word has been spelled with an au as well as an a,
still a possible
       spelling. But the other gauntlet, as in to run the gauntlet, is an
alteration of the earlier
       English form gantlope, which came from the Swedish word gatlopp, a
compound of
       gata, “lane,” and lopp, “course.” The earliest recorded form of the
English word, found in
       1646, is gantelope, showing that alteration of the Swedish word had
already occurred.
       The English word was then influenced by the spelling of the word
gauntlet, “glove,” and
       in 1676 we find the first recorded instance of the spelling gauntlet for
this word, although
       gantelope is found as late as 1836. From then on spellings with au and a
are both found.
       The au seems to have won out, although one could say that the a is
preferable because it
       reflects the Swedish source. In regard to a word that has been so altered
in form, this
       seems a rather fine point.


>From www.m-w.com:


                     Main Entry: 1gaunt·let
                     Pronunciation: 'gont-l&t, 'gänt-
                     Function: noun
                     Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French gantelet,
diminutive
                     of gant glove, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch
want glove,
                     Old Norse vottr
                     Date: 15th century
                     1 : a glove worn with medieval armor to protect the hand
                     2 : any of various protective gloves used especially in
industry
                     3 : an open challenge (as to combat) -- used in phrases
like throw
                     down the gauntlet
                     4 : a dress glove extending above the wrist
                     - gaunt·let·ed /-l&-t&d/ adjective

Main Entry: 2gauntlet
                     Function: noun
                     Etymology: by folk etymology from gantelope
                     Date: 1645
                     1 : a severe trial : ORDEAL <ran the gauntlet of criticism
and censure>
                     2 a : a double file of men facing each other and armed with
clubs or
                     other weapons with which to strike at an individual who is
made to run
                     between them -- used with run b : a long line (as of guards
or
                     well-wishers)
--
David Johnson
trainman@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~trainman/
------------------------------------
These comments are made in a private
capacity and do not represent the
official view of State Rail.
C.O.W.S. Page 11.