DCHP-1 Online
railhead 
1a n. the farthest point to which track has been laid on a railway line.
See also: head of steel (def. 1)
- 1909 There had been great excitement over the capture and the subsequent escape of a prairie-rover, who had robbed the contractor's money-chest at the rail-head on the Canadian Pacific Railroad.
- 1939 The railhead by this time had been hammered through the mountains, past Solomon's Flats, across Yellowhead Pass, along the north shore of Yellowhead Lake, and down into the dim Canyon country of the Fraser.
1b n. the terminus of a railway line.
See also: end of steel (def. 1a)
- 1916 If any man in America knew the rail-head value of such commodities it was this man Shaughnessy. . . .
- 1921 . . . it was eight degrees below zero the second night after we reached railhead at Peace River Landing.
- 1964 It will eliminate the circuitous and time-consuming haul to Great Slave Lake and Mackenzie via the railhead at Waterways. . . .
2 n. a major railway terminus; a distribution centre for railway traffic, freight, etc.
- 1950 Moncton is many things--a railhead, an industrial center, a factory town--but it is no resort for tourists.
- 1958 Civic officials have said it would be impractical to raze sections of the main railhead building, which is nearly two blocks long.
- 1963 The 110-mile route takes the train from its railhead. . . .
- 1909 There had been great excitement over the capture and the subsequent escape of a prairie-rover, who had robbed the contractor's money-chest at the rail-head on the Canadian Pacific Railroad.