Railroad

7 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Railroad \Rail"road`\ (r[=a]l"r[=o]d`), Railway \Rail"way`\
     (r[=a]l"w[=a]`), n.
     1. A road or way consisting of one or more parallel series of
        iron or steel rails, patterned and adjusted to be tracks
        for the wheels of vehicles, and suitably supported on a
        bed or substructure.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The modern railroad is a development and adaptation of
           the older tramway.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The road, track, etc., with all the lands, buildings,
        rolling stock, franchises, etc., pertaining to them and
        constituting one property; as, a certain railroad has been
        put into the hands of a receiver.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Railway is the commoner word in England; railroad the
           commoner word in the United States.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: In the following and similar phrases railroad and
           railway are used interchangeably: 
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Atmospheric railway}, {Elevated railway}, etc. See under
        {Atmospheric}, {Elevated}, etc.
  
     {Cable railway}. See {Cable road}, under {Cable}.
  
     {Ferry railway}, a submerged track on which an elevated
        platform runs, for carrying a train of cars across a water
        course.
  
     {Gravity railway}, a railway, in a hilly country, on which
        the cars run by gravity down gentle slopes for long
        distances after having been hauled up steep inclines to an
        elevated point by stationary engines.
  
     {Railway brake}, a brake used in stopping railway cars or
        locomotives.
  
     {Railway car}, a large, heavy vehicle with flanged wheels
        fitted for running on a railway. [U.S.]
  
     {Railway carriage}, a railway passenger car. [Eng.]
  
     {Railway scale}, a platform scale bearing a track which forms
        part of the line of a railway, for weighing loaded cars.
        
  
     {Railway slide}. See {Transfer table}, under {Transfer}.
  
     {Railway spine} (Med.), an abnormal condition due to severe
        concussion of the spinal cord, such as occurs in railroad
        accidents. It is characterized by ataxia and other
        disturbances of muscular function, sensory disorders, pain
        in the back, impairment of general health, and cerebral
        disturbance, -- the symptoms often not developing till
        some months after the injury.
  
     {Underground railroad} {Underground railway}.
        (a) A railroad or railway running through a tunnel, as
            beneath the streets of a city.
        (b) Formerly, a system of cooperation among certain active
            antislavery people in the United States prior to 1866,
            by which fugitive slaves were secretly helped to reach
            Canada.
  
     Note: [In the latter sense railroad, and not railway, was
           usually used.] "Their house was a principal entrep[^o]t
           of the underground railroad." --W. D. Howells.
           [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Railroad \Rail"road`\, v. t.
     To carry or send by railroad; usually fig., to send or put
     through at high speed or in great haste; to hurry or rush
     unduly; as, to railroad a bill through Condress. [Colloq., U.
     S.]
     [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  railroad
       n 1: line that is the commercial organization responsible for
            operating a railway system [syn: {railway}, {railroad
            line}, {railway line}, {railway system}]
       2: a line of track providing a runway for wheels; "he walked
          along the railroad track" [syn: {railroad track}, {railway}]
       v 1: compel by coercion, threats, or crude means; "They
            sandbagged him to make dinner for everyone" [syn: {dragoon},
             {sandbag}]
       2: supply with railroad lines; "railroad the West"
       3: transport by railroad

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  115 Moby Thesaurus words for "railroad":
     L, accelerate, branch, browbeat, bulldoze, bully, bullyrag, bundle,
     bustle, cable railway, coerce, cog railway, compel, constitute,
     crowd, decree, dispatch, dragoon, drive on, el, electric railway,
     elevated, elevated railway, embankment, enact, enact laws,
     expedite, feeder, feeder line, filibuster, force, forward,
     get the floor, gravity-operated railway, haste, hasten, hasten on,
     have the floor, hector, hie on, horse railway, hurry, hurry along,
     hurry on, hurry up, hustle, hustle up, intimidate, junction, kill,
     lean on, legislate, light railroad, line, lobby through, logroll,
     main line, metro, monorail, ordain, pass, pigeonhole, pocket,
     precipitate, press, pressure, push, push on, push through,
     put in force, put through, quicken, rack railway,
     rack-and-pinion railway, rail, rail line, railroad through,
     railway, roadbed, roadway, roll logs, rush, rush along, sidetrack,
     siding, speed, speed along, speed up, spur, squeeze, stampede,
     street railway, streetcar line, subway, switchback, table,
     take the floor, terminal, terminus, track, tram, tramline, trestle,
     trolley line, trunk, trunk line, tube, turnout, tyrannize,
     underground, urge, veto, whip, whip along, yield the floor
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  RAILROAD, n.  The chief of many mechanical devices enabling us to get
  away from where we are to wher we are no better off.  For this purpose
  the railroad is held in highest favor by the optimist, for it permits
  him to make the transit with great expedition.
  
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Railroad, PA (borough, FIPS 63288)
    Location: 39.76007 N, 76.69694 W
    Population (1990): 317 (114 housing units)
    Area: 1.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Railroad, PA -- U.S. borough in Pennsylvania
     Population (2000):    300
     Housing Units (2000): 116
     Land area (2000):     0.626665 sq. miles (1.623054 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    0.626665 sq. miles (1.623054 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            63288
     Located within:       Pennsylvania (PA), FIPS 42
     Location:             39.756761 N, 76.699396 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):    
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Railroad, PA
      Railroad