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railhead

American  
[rayl-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

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

Mulholland is the father of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, completed in 1913, that brings in water from 200 miles away and reshaped Los Angeles from a parched railhead into the nation’s second most populous city.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 31, 2014

Ras-el-Ain, the present railhead of the Bagdad railway, is seventy miles south.

From The Story of the Great War, Volume V (of 8) Battle of Jutland Bank; Russian Offensive; Kut-El-Amara; East Africa; Verdun; The Great Somme Drive; United States and Belligerents; Summary of Two Years' War by Allen L. (Allen Leon) Churchill

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