rack and pinion

English

Noun

rack and pinion (plural rack and pinions or racks and pinions)

1. A pair of gears, consisting of a circular pinion that engages with the teeth of a flat bar, that converts rotational into linear motion; used in the steering mechanism of cars, and in some railways.
   • 1950 November, H. P. White, “The Furka-Oberalp Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 770:

     To sum up, the Furka-Oberalp Railway is a good example of the adaptation of the rack-and-pinion system to a main line over mountainous terrain.

   • 1960 December, Voyageur, “The Mountain Railways of the Bernese Oberland”, in Trains Illustrated, page 752:

     The length of the Wengernalp Railway from Lauterbrunnen over the Kleine Scheidegg to Grindelwald or vice versa, Riggenbach rack-and-pinion operated throughout, should be a "must" in the itinerary of every Oberland tourist; [...].

   • 2021 May 19, David Clough, “Swiss precision meets UK growth”, in RAIL, number 931, page 56:

     Finally, it is the world's leading manufacturer in the rack-and-pinion rail vehicle industry.

Translations

mechanism converting rotational motion into linear

• Finnish: hammastanko ja hammaspyörä, hammastanko
• German: Zahnstangenantrieb m
• Norwegian: Tannstang f
• Polish: zębatka (pl) f
• Russian: реечная́ переда́ча f (reječnajá peredáča), кремалье́ра (ru) f (kremalʹjéra)
• Serbo-Croatian: zupčani prijenos s ozubnicom m