railhead

rail +‎ head

railhead (plural railheads)

1. (rail transport) A point on a railway system where goods (or passengers) are loaded, unloaded or transferred to other transport.
   • 1961 October, “The winter timetables of British Railways: Western Region”, in Trains Illustrated, pages 590-591:

     The improved service to and from Taunton is fully justified by the passenger patronage to and from this town, which is a railhead for a large surrounding area.

   • 2019 October, John Glover, “Heathrow rail expansion”, in Modern Railways, page 71:

     It would also offer an important opportunity to move construction materials in bulk, using a new railhead.

2. The furthest point on a railroad/railway under construction to which rails have been laid.
3. (rail transport) The top surface (head) of a rail.

   Alternative form: rail head

   • 2020 December 30, “Network News: Railhead contamination contributed to level crossing near miss”, in Rail, page 10:

     High levels of railhead contamination (which can prevent train predictor systems working correctly) were present in the area - probably as a result of limited operation of the railhead treatment train, according to RAIB.

4. (military) An area of hostile territory at the end of a rail line that, when captured, serves for the continuous movement into position of further troops and material.

• airhead
• beachhead
• bridgehead

• “railhead”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

• headrail