Monday, February 2, 2009
RailROAD vs. RailWAY
Being home today with a cold & VERY board, I thought I would search for an answer to the reason we use Railroad or Railway. What a surprise! So I am looking for ALL the opinions out there, just to see if there is an answer. Not Trivia but very interesting. Looking forward to some input. Mike
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6 comments:
Mike,
good question!
Seems like Canada has been fussing about this very issue for years and as of yet not come up with a viable conclusion. Some people prefer Railroad while others prefer Railway. Some people even believe Railway is Canadian while Railroad is American.
Good luck with this one.
My own 2 cents would be Railroad is the Corporation and equipment while Railway is the Right of ways.
Mike,
Sorry to hear that you're under the weather. Hopefully you'll be feeling better soon.
My memory of the two terms is that Railway is the older of the two and that it came to North America from England, where its pedigree can be traced back to a bit of Old English, French, and German.
In turn, Railroad is a more 'American' term.
However, I have never seen a definition of either term that significantly distinguishes between the meaning of each - which is probably why they tend to get used interchangeably, at least here in the states.
It's also interesting to note that although both are nouns, only one is also recognized as a verb - like how you "railroaded" us in thinking about this question in the first place! I know - that's a pretty big stretch to the use of the verb, railroad...
I for one will be glad when you are back to health and challenging us with real Maine train Trivia questions
Hey Mike, I hope you are feeling better. I like SCGRR answer for your question.
John
Station Master,
I guess that means you really didn't like mine! :<((
But that's OK...
I like all the answers. I was just amazed the wide range of answers on the web. One of those question with many correct answers I think.
And Ray I will be kept in for the next 4 days at best. SHOULD give some time to come up with a Maine Rail.... Triva
Thanks All
Mike
Oh poor Ray, I am sorry, yes I like your answer too. (I think we posted at the same time).
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