jimtyp
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Centennial, CO
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 | | 02/08/2008 3:36 PM |
| | I'm trying to name my garden railway/rail road, and trying find out if there is a subtle difference (or not so subtle) between "railway" and "rail road"? Are they equally interchangeable or is there a difference? | |
livin' la vida loco | |
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Pete Thornton
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Annapolis, MD
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| | 02/08/2008 4:08 PM |
| Last time someone asked, I recall the concensus was that the UK uses Railway, and the USA uses Railroad. Probably something to do with the desire not to be seen as a colony slavishly following European practice?
Which doesn't explain why the GR magazine is Garden Railways, although the editor seems to be a fan of UK narrow gauge trains! | |
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Mike Rogers
Redding, California
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jimtyp
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Centennial, CO
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| | 02/08/2008 4:23 PM |
| | Ah, thanks for the info Pete and Mike! Now I have to decide between Railroad and Rail Road :-) | |
livin' la vida loco | |
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Semper Vaporo
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Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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| | 02/08/2008 5:03 PM |
| | For me, I decided to use Railway because in my logo it looked better to nest the "Y" of the CMBY part in the "Y" of the RY part instead of trying to nest the "Y" in the "R" of RR. I did some study of the usage of the terms (before Wiki had anything at all about it!) and found that there were several U.S. RailWAYs, including a couple that were big names (C&NW and Southern) and that was good enough for me. But, yes there are more UK lines that use Railway than U.S. lines. | |
 C. T. McCullough
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Le 18:22
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dawinter
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Peachland BC Canada
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| | 02/08/2008 5:37 PM |
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Canadian National is a 'Railway' so mine is a "Railway" too. But it runs on a railroad.  | |
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Boiler
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Posts:19
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| | 02/08/2008 6:20 PM |
| Last time someone asked, I recall the concensus was that the UK uses Railway, and the USA uses Railroad. Probably something to do with the desire not to be seen as a colony slavishly following European practice?
European and Colony?
Well that would be the Chemin de Fer or Ferrocarill.
As far as the US is concerned, some lines have used both, I know the DSPP started as Railway and then changed to Railroad.
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van buren sl
Rockville, Maryland
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| | 02/08/2008 7:56 PM |
| | The Western Maryland Railway and the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road were two major companies headquarted in the same state. Both terms were used to describe the same type of enterprise and are complerely interchangeable in everyday use. However, when you are around Norfolk and Western, Southern and Western Maryland railfans it's always tactful to use the term "Railway" or simply omit using the last word in their titles. | | | |
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SteveC
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| | 02/08/2008 7:59 PM |
| Jim
I would say use what suits you, unless of course you're modeling a specific company then you'll have to do your research, even then you'll find that the corporate name and operating names (i.e. d.b.a.) were different.
You'll find the usage mixed on both sides of the pond...
Railroad
Rail Road
Railway
Rail Way
Railways
etc. etc. etc. | | | |
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ralphbrades
Village of Winster, Peak District, Derbyshire, UK
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| | 02/08/2008 9:41 PM |
| Er Steve C....
No you don't.
Here in the UK and Commonwealth if I say "Railway" it means somewhere that is NOT in the US. if I say "Railroad" I mean somewhere that IS in the US and nowhere else.
Only is the US are the two words used interchangeably.
regards
ralph | |
The Home of Articulated Ugliness | |
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Greg Stevens
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Glendora, CA
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| | 02/08/2008 9:48 PM |
| Jim,
The terms are interchangable to me. Take the case of the old AT&SF. In its beginings it was the AT&SF Railroad. After bankruptcy court in the late 1890's it became the AT&SF Railway and was until the merger with the BN. The new name was the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Rwy until the name was again changed to just plain BNSF. I do think it is still refered to as Railway though. The crux of the matter is that it is up to you what you would like to use and there is no difference. It depends on which one you like and want to use. | |
Work & Play Safely,  Greg Stevens | |
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East Broad Top
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Centennial, CO
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| | 02/08/2008 9:56 PM |
| It was common when railroads reorganized for this or that financial reason to simply change their name from "Such-and-Such Railroad" to "Such-and-Such Railway." That way the common name stayed the same, but legally it would be a different entity.
Later,
K | |
Tuscarora Railroad
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SteveC
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| | 02/08/2008 10:02 PM |
| Posted By ralphbrades on 02/08/2008 9:41 PM
Er Steve C....
No you don't.
Here in the UK and Commonwealth if I say "Railway" it means somewhere that is NOT in the US. if I say "Railroad" I mean somewhere that IS in the US and nowhere else.
Only is the US are the two words used interchangeably.
regards
ralph
Ralph
I must respectfully disagree. While that may be very well true now a days and sometime into the past, I've run across way to many pieces of documentation published in England (and maybe Wales & Scotland) in the early 1700s and later where the terms as stated above were used, and the lines that were being refered to weren't in the U.S. as a matter of fact I don't think there were any steam locomotives present on this side of the pond as yet (of domestic orign or import). | | | |
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John J
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| | 02/08/2008 11:46 PM |
| NO NO NO  a RAILWAY deals in passenger service.  A RAIL ROAD deals in Freight No Wait It's the other way around I think    | |
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Semper Vaporo
1st Class Member
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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| | 02/09/2008 12:29 AM |
| | You could always call it your "Choo-choo track". | |
C. T. McCullough
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Le 18:22
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ralphbrades
Village of Winster, Peak District, Derbyshire, UK
Foreman
Posts:196
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| | 02/09/2008 1:36 AM |
| QUOTE:
The word 'rail' was already in use for things made from lengths of wood and this is probably the origin of the term railway (first recorded use 1681) or rail-road (first used as a description in 1702).
UNQUOTE
Is this what you mean? I spend quite a lot of my time at Butterley....
regards
ralph | |
The Home of Articulated Ugliness | |
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Great Western
The English Riviera, Torbay, Devon
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Posts:280
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| | 02/09/2008 2:51 AM |
| A fascinating and enlightening thread on semantics.
It always appeared to me that Europe was WAY and the States ROAD but this is not so it seems.
Anyway my models are based on American practice and stock - hence I called it a railroad and my 1:1 work is on a railway. ( The P&DSR by the way Ralph)
I like the remark about Garden RAILWAYS title. That is interesting. Maybe it is to differentiate it from Model Railroader.
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regards,
Alan Lott (G1AEU)
http://picasaweb.google.com/FSigs52
http://www.paignton-steamrailway.co.uk
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Rod Hayward
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| | 02/09/2008 4:01 AM |
| | A Wailwoad, eh Bwian? | | | |
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SteveC
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| | 02/09/2008 5:39 AM |
| Posted By ralphbrades on 02/09/2008 1:36 AM
QUOTE:
The word 'rail' was already in use for things made from lengths of wood and this is probably the origin of the term railway (first recorded use 1681) or rail-road (first used as a description in 1702).
UNQUOTE
Is this what you mean? I spend quite a lot of my time at Butterley....
regards
ralph
Ralph
To be honest, the last time this question was brought up I became very curious and spent around a month or so rummaging around all sorts of web sites in England, Wales, and Scotland etc. The main thing that I discovered is just how much more we're alike than different. Not surprising I suppose given our beginnings and all. 
At first most of the documents I looked at were of a modern vintage, however, within many of them there were references made to much earlier documents from which the authors laid claim to as being their source of original evidence. Well, what with myself being of natural inquisitive and distrustful nature to begin with, What else could be expected, but that I would go in search of these older documents, which led to many interesting places (e.g. the British Museum, please forgive the terminology if it's incorrect). It really was amazing to find Acts of Parliament on railway, railroad matters that far back.available on-line. If I remember correctly wasn't the Surry Iron Railway the first time that parliamentary authority came into play since the line was in an urban environment as was class as a common carrier, not a purpose-built one like the ones for the collieries and chalk quarries, which mostly traversed private land.
I'm going from memory here and dealing with names that are unfamiliar, but as I remember it one of the gentlemen that I remember using the hyphenated form of rail-road was by the name Tredgold, but I believe he was referring to what I believe is rightly called 'edgeway' where the wheels are flanged as opposed to an 'L' shaped plate used on tramways. The other thing that I sort of think I remember reading was that the terms of railway and railroad originated around someplace named Shropshire. Anything further and I'll have to go back and dig up the references that I had stumbled across.originally. | | | |
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pimanjc
1st Class Member
Jim Carter - Wichita, KS
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Posts:508
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| | 02/09/2008 5:57 AM |
| So... Railroad, Rail-road, and Railway usage depends on when, where, and ? how, the line was used. is the term "Right-of-Way" universal, or does its use vary also?
JimC. | |
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