This track component guides wheels smoothly across the gap where two rails intersect at an angle. It features a V-shaped point flanked by wing rails, creating flangeways that safely channel the wheel treads. While track engineers use this formal designation on blueprints and component orders, operating crews almost universally call it a frog.
We need to order a replacement common crossing for the east turnout, since the point is battered beyond limits.
Track gangs and engineers use this term on technical drawings, but if you say it to a switchman or hogger, they will just stare at you until you call it a frog.
Also heard as
- frog
Related terms
Frog
The crossing piece in a turnout or diamond where one rail passes through another and wheels cross the gap.
Turnout
The complete track assembly that diverts a train from one route to another.
Switch points
The pair of movable, tapered rails in a turnout that steer wheels onto one route or the other.
Flangeway
The clearance gap adjacent to a running rail that allows wheel flanges to pass.