light railway

plural light railways

1. UKrail transportA railway built at a lower cost, with a lighter track and to a lower standard than a main-line railway.

   Although the line is officially a light railway, it is of standard gauge, and the traffic, particularly during and since the war years, is anything but light.

   1948 September and October, G. E. C. Webb, “By Light Railway to Fawley”, in Railway Magazine, page 307

   1 more example

   Under a Light Railway Order of 1904, the line was extended to Appledore, and opened thence on May 1, 1908, bringing the route length up to a fraction over 7 miles. The whole system was worked under this Order as a light railway, but this caused some friction with the local authorities when, under the authority of the Board of Trade, the gates were removed at five level crossings in May, 1905.

   1939 June, “Pertinent Paragraphs: The Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 459