siding, noun

Origin:
EnglishShow more Special sense of general English siding a short railway track at the side of the line, used for shunting.
A scheduled (and named) stop for goods and passenger trains, often in open country, where farming produce may be loaded, passengers taken on board, etc.
1911 J.W. Sauer in Farmer’s Weekly 15 Mar. 10So far as sidings are concerned, especially sidings where there is no staff on duty, I do not think it would be advisable to provide storage accommodation thereat.
1913 D. Fairbridge Piet of Italy 172Pausing at Bosman’s Siding to pick up a predikant in a white tie.
1916 Farmer’s Weekly 20 Dec. 1454 (advt)For Sale. Boer Seed Oats Price 30s. per bag 153lb. delivered on rails Rooi Spruit Siding.
1919 R.Y. Stormberg With Love from Gwenno 75To-morrow I shall stand shivering at that old siding down the valley, waiting for the train to bear me away from this dear wretched old place.
1926 L.D. Flemming Fun on Veld (1928) 55In this particular spot a railway train passes a little siding two miles away once every twenty-four hours.
1926 L.D. Flemming Fun on Veld (1928) 98I wrote and told him I would be very glad if he would send me the plough to Backveld Siding.
c1936 S. & E. Afr. Yr Bk & Guide 135Land at about £300 per acre, inclusive of railway siding and water laid on.
1956 N. Gordimer in Best of S. Afr. Short Stories (1991) 220It was only the train that had stopped. Mrs Hansen lay and listened; they must be at some deserted siding, in the small hours.
1960 J. Cope Tame Ox 67Voices were singing outside as she awoke, a gang of labourers loading bales of hides into a truck at the siding.
1979 T. Gutsche There Was a Man 35No bush, no blade of grass — only rocks varied by slight eminences, sometimes a tiny dorp of corrugated iron shacks, sometimes only a deserted siding.
1989 D. Briscoe in Motorist 4th Quarter 5From Lady Grey the train goes forward to Melk Siding, then backward to Bamboeskloof Siding, then forward, backward in a zig-zag fashion, hugging the contours of the mountain all the way.
1990 A. Campbell in Fair Lady 11 Apr. 56Her childhood was passed in those small sooty railway sidings, with names like Karakuwisa..developed round the mysterious iconography of South African Railways.
1991 J. Winter tr. of P. Pieterse’s Shadow of Eagle 27‘That is Huntley siding,’ he told her to ease the moment. He pointed down towards the small white signboard alongside the track.
A scheduled (and named) stop for goods and passenger trains, often in open country, where farming produce may be loaded, passengers taken on board, etc.
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sickness, nounn.sieketroos, nounn.
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