Rail

Rail, rāl, n. a bar of timber or metal extending from one support to another, as in fences, staircases, &c.: one of those steel bars used on the permanent way of a railway, generally of that form known as the T-rail: a barrier: the railway as a means of travel or transport: (archit.) the horizontal part of a frame and panel: (naut.) the forecastle-rail, poop-rail, and top-rail are bars across the forecastle, &c.—v.t. to enclose with rails: to furnish with rails.—ns. Rail′-bend′er, a screw-press for straightening rails; Rail′-bor′er, a hand-drill for rails; Rail′-chair, an iron block by which the rails are secured to the sleepers; Rail′-clamp, a wedge for clamping a rail firmly; Rail′-coup′ling, a bar by which the opposite rails of a railway are connected at curves, switches, &c.; Rail′-guard, a guard-rail before a front wheel; Rail′ing, a fence of posts and rails: material for rails; Rail′-punch, a machine for punching holes in the webs of rails; Rail′road, Rail′way, a road or way laid with iron rails on which carriages run.—v.t. Rail′road (U.S.), to push forward fast.—ns. Rail′roader, one employed about a railway; Rail′road-worm, the apple maggot; Rail′-saw, a portable machine for sawing off metal rails; Rail′-split′ter (U.S.), one who splits logs into rails for a fence; Rail′way-car, a vehicle for the transportation of passengers and goods; Rail′way-carr′iage, a carriage for the conveyance of passengers; Rail′way-cross′ing, an intersection of railway-lines: an intersection of an ordinary road with a railroad; Rail′way-slide, a turn-table; Rail′way-stitch, a loose and rapid stitch in knitting or crochet-work; Rail′way-train (see Train).—Railway company, a stock company formed for the construction and working of a railway, usually organised by a legislative enactment.—Elevated railway, an elevated bridge-like structure used for railway purposes, to avoid obstruction of surface roadways; Military railway, a railway equipped for military service, the locomotives being armoured, and the carriages armour-plated and provided with portholes for rifles; Portable railway, a light railway made in detachable sections, and so suited for carrying easily from place to place. [Low Ger. regel, prob. through O. Fr. reille; cf. Ger. riegel, a bar. Some refer to L. regula through O. Fr. reille.]