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:
“Chamberlain’s visit to Hitler today may bring things to a head or may result in a temporary postponement of what looks to me like an inevitable conflict within the next five years.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“It is the custom of the immortal gods to grant temporary prosperity and a fairly long period of impunity to those whom they plan to punish for their crimes, so that they may feel it all the more keenly as a result of the change in their fortunes.”
—Julius Caesar [Gaius Julius Caesar] (100–44 B.C.)