Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🚉 End of tracks 🎖️ Army supply depot
railhead

railhead

9.1
A military depot where people unload supplies from trains for troops
  • noun
  • /ˈreɪlˌhɛd/
  • Jargon
translation icon : depósito ferroviario
  • During the supply operation, the team worked efficiently at the railhead to ensure everything was ready for deployment.

Examples

  • Braun, take Captain Kiesel to the railhead!

    Cross of Iron (1977)

  • The supplies were delivered to the railhead before being distributed to the frontline units.

  • At the railhead, soldiers loaded ammunition onto trucks for transport to the troops.

Synonyms

dock
vsrailhead
69 2.8

A platform at a warehouse where trucks pull up to load or unload

is the military distribution point where supplies are unloaded for use
depot
vsrailhead
56 4.4

A place where buses and trains stop for people and goods to get on and off

is a military site used to unload and distribute supplies
loading dock
vsrailhead
27 3.6

A raised area at a building where trucks stop to load and unload goods

is the military unloading area used to move supplies onward
railway station
vsrailhead
  • UK
7 1.3

A place where trains stop to pick up and drop off people and goods

serves military logistics focusing on unloading supplies for distribution
railroad station
vsrailhead
  • US
5 1.5

A place where trains stop to pick up or drop off people and goods

is the military unloading point for supplies rather than general passenger use
train depot
vsrailhead
  • US
3 3.1

A place where trains stop to load people or goods

is the military facility for unloading supplies for distribution

Surface Forms

railhead singular
railheads plural

Morphology

railhead = rail + head (semi-transparent) = rail + head

While 'rail' + 'head' indicate a place related to the end of the railway, the specialized military depot/distribution sense is an extension that learners may not predict.

Etymology

Railhead is made from the words rail (a metal bar that makes train tracks) and head ('end' or 'top'). So a railhead is the place at the 'end of the rails' where supplies are unloaded and sent out, which is why armies used a railhead as a supply depot.