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tramos en forma de zeta

English translation: there is an important element here that seems so far to have been missed

21:32 Feb 16, 2005
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Tourism & Travel / tourism
Spanish term or phrase: tramos en forma de zeta
I would be grateful if you could please help me with this paragraph:
Su recorrido tiene 291 km a una velocidad media de 30 km/h y va ascendiendo en dirección norte, haciendo tramos en zigzag para ganar altura en poco espacio, o tramos en forma de zeta por los que el tren pasa sin girar y cubriendo siempre el segundo tramo marcha atrás.

my draft translation: A 291km long journey at an average speed of 30 km/h, the train starts to make its way up towards the north and continues along its zigzagged trip to gain height through limited space or xx stretches xx
Eloisa Anchezar
Argentina
Local time: 09:11
English translation:there is an important element here that seems so far to have been missed
Explanation:
the train is clearly climbing a steep gradient. There are some sections up which it zigzags always moving forward in the same direction and negotiating the bends which must, therefore, be round corners (think of the shape of an "S"), but there are others where its trajectory describes a "Z" and it is over these sections that the second leg is always covered with the train reversing direction. Just imagine what is happening keeping the shape of the "Z" in mind: the train travels normally along the bottom leg of the "Z" until it reaches the bend (hairpin). There it pulls into the corner nose first. The tail of the train then becomes the head (front) and it continues up the diagonal of the "Z" to the next corner - the train is effectively in reverse (what railway experts call "banking", where the locomotive is at the rear and pusshing, rather than pulling the train). There the train pulls into the next corner later to emerge with the locomotive pulling once again.

In effect, there are sections of line where the train climbs the hill negotiating it systematically in the forwards direction. These are the "zigzags" and others that it covers in a "Z" configuration with the second leg always banked.

To my knowledge, there is no official term for this but maybe some research into mountain railways might help you.
HTH

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2005-02-17 08:59:07 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Quotation from report on trip to Peru

\"After several cups of cafe con leche, we were ready for anything! Even the switchbacks that take the train out of the city and up over the ridges into the Urubamba valley toward Machu Picchu. Just imagine a winding road or trail twisting back and forth across a steep mountain face. When you get to a switchback, you make a sharp turn and head in the opposite direction. Now, imagine that the corner is so sharp that you can\'t turn. So, what to do? The engineers who built the train tracks heading out of Cusco towards Machu Picchu came up with an ingenious solution... simply extend the tracks a few hundred meters and put in a switch. The train goes to the end of the track and a switchman (what else?... you were expecting a switch-person?) hops off and switches the rails so that when the train backs up it takes a different set of tracks and heads higher without having to turn around. At the next switchback (now you know where that term possibly originated) the same thing happens. After four of these the train has gotten high enough on the mountain to go over a pass and into the next valley. On the return journey, the exact same thing happens in reverse to get the train back down to Cusco level.\"

I also found to \"snake up\" the hill, so why not use \"sections where the train can snake its way through the switchbacks/hairpins without banking and sections with such sharp corners that it has to reverse direction at each bend\"

Selected response from:

CMJ_Trans (X)
Local time: 09:11
Grading comment
thank you very much for help!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2zigzagged terrain
Xenia Wong
4 +2stretches with switchbacks
Marian Greenfield
5Z shaped stretches/ it zigs and zags
sym
4there is an important element here that seems so far to have been missed
CMJ_Trans (X)


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
zigzagged terrain


Explanation:
sug.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 mins (2005-02-16 21:37:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

....or zigzagged stretches

Xenia Wong
Local time: 02:11
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 15

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Silvina Jover-Cirillo (X)
2 hrs
  -> Thans a lot, Silvina..........xen
agree  cuervo04
8 hrs
  -> cuervo, muchas gracias..........xen
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
stretches with switchbacks


Explanation:
rather than height, I think you want to talk about altitude...

switchback

Part of speech: noun
Syllables: switch-back
Pronunciation: swIch baek
Definition: a road, path, or railroad track that climbs a mountain or other steep grade by using a zigzag route.


Marian Greenfield
Local time: 03:11
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 37

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  bigedsenior
4 hrs
agree  Michele Fauble
8 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Z shaped stretches/ it zigs and zags


Explanation:
para no repetir zigzag como verbo....

sym
Local time: 04:11
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 3
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

10 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
there is an important element here that seems so far to have been missed


Explanation:
the train is clearly climbing a steep gradient. There are some sections up which it zigzags always moving forward in the same direction and negotiating the bends which must, therefore, be round corners (think of the shape of an "S"), but there are others where its trajectory describes a "Z" and it is over these sections that the second leg is always covered with the train reversing direction. Just imagine what is happening keeping the shape of the "Z" in mind: the train travels normally along the bottom leg of the "Z" until it reaches the bend (hairpin). There it pulls into the corner nose first. The tail of the train then becomes the head (front) and it continues up the diagonal of the "Z" to the next corner - the train is effectively in reverse (what railway experts call "banking", where the locomotive is at the rear and pusshing, rather than pulling the train). There the train pulls into the next corner later to emerge with the locomotive pulling once again.

In effect, there are sections of line where the train climbs the hill negotiating it systematically in the forwards direction. These are the "zigzags" and others that it covers in a "Z" configuration with the second leg always banked.

To my knowledge, there is no official term for this but maybe some research into mountain railways might help you.
HTH

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2005-02-17 08:59:07 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Quotation from report on trip to Peru

\"After several cups of cafe con leche, we were ready for anything! Even the switchbacks that take the train out of the city and up over the ridges into the Urubamba valley toward Machu Picchu. Just imagine a winding road or trail twisting back and forth across a steep mountain face. When you get to a switchback, you make a sharp turn and head in the opposite direction. Now, imagine that the corner is so sharp that you can\'t turn. So, what to do? The engineers who built the train tracks heading out of Cusco towards Machu Picchu came up with an ingenious solution... simply extend the tracks a few hundred meters and put in a switch. The train goes to the end of the track and a switchman (what else?... you were expecting a switch-person?) hops off and switches the rails so that when the train backs up it takes a different set of tracks and heads higher without having to turn around. At the next switchback (now you know where that term possibly originated) the same thing happens. After four of these the train has gotten high enough on the mountain to go over a pass and into the next valley. On the return journey, the exact same thing happens in reverse to get the train back down to Cusco level.\"

I also found to \"snake up\" the hill, so why not use \"sections where the train can snake its way through the switchbacks/hairpins without banking and sections with such sharp corners that it has to reverse direction at each bend\"



CMJ_Trans (X)
Local time: 09:11
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 48
Grading comment
thank you very much for help!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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