switchback

A sharp bend in a road or trail on a steep incline.

A point on a mountain railway where trains reverse direction to continue obliquely up or down a slope without turning.

A road, trail, or railway that has such bends or points in it.

A section of such a road, trail, or railroad, extending in a nearly opposite direction to the section coming before or after it.

A roller coaster.

To proceed in sharp turns in alternating directions on a steep incline.

Characterized by alternate motion, or by motion back and forth; pertaining to or adapted to use on a switchback: as, a switchback method of ascent; a switchback series of inclines; a switchback railway.

A railway for ascending or descending steep acclivities, in which a practicable grade is obtained by curving the track alternately backward and forward along the side of the slope. Also called switchback railway.

By extension, an inclined railway in which the movement of a train or of a car is partly or wholly effected by gravity, as in the switchback railway at Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, and railways constructed for purposes of amusement at watering-places, fairs, and pleasure-resorts.