railhead

American  

[reyl-hed] / ˈreɪlˌhɛd /

noun

Railroads.

1. the farthest point to which the rails of a railroad have been laid.

2. the upper part of a rail, used for supporting and guiding the wheels of railroad cars.

3. a railroad depot at which supplies are unloaded to be distributed or forwarded by truck or other means.

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railhead British  

/ ˈreɪlˌhɛd /

noun

1. a terminal of a railway

2. the farthest point reached by completed track on an unfinished railway

3. military the point at which material and personnel are transferred from rail to another conveyance

4. the upper part of a railway rail, on which the traffic wheels run

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Etymology

Origin of railhead

First recorded in 1895–1900; rail ¹ + head

Example Sentences

Imports and exports utilizing the Chinese train at Vientiane must be transferred by road across the Mekong’s bridge to Nong Khai’s railhead, where Thailand’s trains connect to Bangkok and elsewhere.

From Washington Times • Jan. 13, 2022

The German boy from a railhead in Kansas?

From Fox News • Dec. 3, 2018

In 1946, Karl purchased the La Junta, Colorado, auction market, which was also on a railhead.

From Washington Times • Feb. 17, 2017

On Friday Cameron warned that the Calais migrant crisis would likely last throughout the summer, as he announced additional security measures to protect the Eurotunnel railhead in France.

From The Guardian • Jul. 31, 2015

From Erzerum to the nearest railhead is something like 200 miles.

From The Story of the Great War, Volume IV (of 8) Champagne, Artois, Grodno; Fall of Nish; Caucasus; Mesopotamia; Development of Air Strategy; United States and the War by Miller, Francis Trevelyan