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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.


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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of railhead

First recorded in 1895–1900; rail 1 + head

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

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

“The railhead of all bad decisions is the same railhead: Javanka,” he said, using a nickname that conflates the couple.

From The Guardian Dec. 23, 2017

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

From Washington Times Feb. 17, 2017

He had further instructed that the train should stop at a place about twenty miles from railhead to load up sleepers, which were cut from the forest for use on the railway.

From Swift and Sure by Herbert Strang

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