What is "main line"

Shaft \Shaft\, n. [OE. shaft, schaft, AS. sceaft; akin to D. schacht, OHG. scaft, G. schaft, Dan. & Sw. skaft handle, haft, Icel. skapt, and probably to L. scapus, Gr. ????, ????, a staff. Probably originally, a shaven or smoothed rod. Cf. Scape, Scepter, Shave.]

1. The slender, smooth stem of an arrow; hence, an arrow.

   His sleep, his meat, his drink, is him bereft, That lean he wax, and dry as is a shaft.
   --Chaucer.

   A shaft hath three principal parts, the stele [stale], the feathers, and the head.
   --Ascham.

2. The long handle of a spear or similar weapon; hence, the weapon itself; (Fig.) anything regarded as a shaft to be thrown or darted; as, shafts of light.

   And the thunder, Winged with red lightning and impetuous rage, Perhaps hath spent his shafts.
   --Milton.

   Some kinds of literary pursuits . . . have been attacked with all the shafts of ridicule.
   --V. Knox.

3. That which resembles in some degree the stem or handle of an arrow or a spear; a long, slender part, especially when cylindrical. Specifically:

   1. (Bot.) The trunk, stem, or stalk of a plant.

   2. (Zo["o]l.) The stem or midrib of a feather. See Illust. of Feather.

   3. The pole, or tongue, of a vehicle; also, a thill.

   4. The part of a candlestick which supports its branches.

      Thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold . . . his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
      --Ex. xxv. 31.

   5. The handle or helve of certain tools, instruments, etc., as a hammer, a whip, etc.

   6. A pole, especially a Maypole. [Obs.]
      --Stow.

   7. (Arch.) The body of a column; the cylindrical pillar between the capital and base (see Illust. of Column). Also, the part of a chimney above the roof. Also, the spire of a steeple. [Obs. or R.]
      --Gwilt.

   8. A column, an obelisk, or other spire-shaped or columnar monument.

      Bid time and nature gently spare The shaft we raise to thee.
      --Emerson.

   9. (Weaving) A rod at the end of a heddle.

   10. (Mach.) A solid or hollow cylinder or bar, having one or more journals on which it rests and revolves, and intended to carry one or more wheels or other revolving parts and to transmit power or motion; as, the shaft of a steam engine. See Illust. of Countershaft.

4. (Zo["o]l.) A humming bird ( Thaumastura cora) having two of the tail feathers next to the middle ones very long in the male; -- called also cora humming bird.

5. [Cf. G. schacht.] (Mining) A well-like excavation in the earth, perpendicular or nearly so, made for reaching and raising ore, for raising water, etc.

6. A long passage for the admission or outlet of air; an air shaft.

7. The chamber of a blast furnace.

   Line shaft (Mach.), a main shaft of considerable length, in a shop or factory, usually bearing a number of pulleys by which machines are driven, commonly by means of countershafts; -- called also line, or main line.

   Shaft alley (Naut.), a passage extending from the engine room to the stern, and containing the propeller shaft.

   Shaft furnace (Metal.), a furnace, in the form of a chimney, which is charged at the top and tapped at the bottom.

main line \main line\ n. Ahe principal route of a transportation system, such as a railroad or bus line.

"principal line of a railway," 1841; meaning "affluent area of residence" is by 1917, originally (with capitals) that of Philadelphia, from the "main line" of the Pennsylvania Railroad which added local stops to a string of backwater towns west of the city late 19c. that helped turn them into fashionable suburbs.\n\nThe Main Line, Philadelphia's most famous suburban district, was deliberately conceived in the 1870's and 1880's by the [Pennsylvania] Railroad, which built high-toned housing developments, ran hotels, more or less forced its executives to plunk their estates out there, and created a whole series of somewhat spurious Welsh towns along the railroad tracks. ... Now everybody assumes these all date from 1682, like the Robertses; but as Chestnut Hill people like to say, "nobody but Welsh peasants lived on the Main Line till the Railroad built it up."

[Nathaniel Burt, "The Perennial Philadelphians," 1963]

n. 1 The principal route or line of a railway. 2 (context fishing Finnish) In longline fishing the central line to which the branch lines with baits are attached. 3 (context slang English) A principal vein into which a drug can be injected.

n. the principal route of a transportation system

The Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was a rail line in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, connecting Philadelphia with Pittsburgh via Harrisburg. The rail line was split into two rail lines and now all of its right of way is now a cross-state corridor, composed of Amtrak's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line (includes SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale Line service) and the Norfolk Southern Railway's Pittsburgh Line.

The Columbus to Indianapolis via Bradford Main Line was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. state of Ohio.

The line ran from Bradford on the Columbus to Chicago Main Line southwest to New Paris on the Pittsburgh to St. Louis Main Line, forming part of a route between Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana. It is now completely abandoned.

The Main Line is a major railway line in the rail network of Sri Lanka. The line begins at Colombo Fort and winds through the Sri Lankan hill country to reach Badulla.

The Main line (from the German Mainlinie, or line on the Main River) refers to the historical and political boundary between North and South Germany. The line delimitates the spheres of influence of Austria and Prussia within the German Confederation during the 19th century. The seat of the German Confederation, Frankfurt am Main, sat upon this line.

The Main Line (or Erie Main Line) is a rail line owned and operated by New Jersey Transit running from Suffern, New York to Hoboken, New Jersey, in the United States. It runs daily commuter service and was once the north-south main line of the Erie Railroad. It is colored yellow on NJ Transit system maps, and its symbol is a water wheel.

The Bergen County Line splits off the Main Line just west of the Secaucus Junction transfer station and rejoins it at Ridgewood. Trains on both lines are push-pull, powered by diesel locomotives (ordinarily on the west end of the train).

The Columbus to Chicago Main Line was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The line ran from Columbus, Ohio northwest via Logansport, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois. Junctions included the Columbus to Indianapolis Main Line via Bradford, which split at Bradford to reach the Pittsburgh to St. Louis Main Line at New Paris, the Fort Wayne Branch at Ridgeville, the Richmond Branch (from Cincinnati) at Anoka, and the South Bend Branch and I&F Branch at Logansport.

The line has largely been abandoned. The Norfolk Southern Railway operates the portion from Red Key, Indiana west to Sweetser as the Red Key Secondary; the piece from Anoka to Logansport is part of the Winamac Southern Railroad and a short piece from Schererville to Hartsdale is the Norfolk Southern Logansport Secondary .

The Pittsburgh to St. Louis Main Line was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The line ran from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania west via Steubenville, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, Terre Haute, Indiana, and Vandalia, Illinois to East St. Louis, Illinois. In addition to its east end in downtown Pittsburgh, where it met the Main Line and Pittsburgh to Chicago Main Line, junctions included the Columbus to Chicago Main Line at Columbus, the C&X Branch (to Cincinnati) at Xenia, the Columbus to Indianapolis Main Line via Bradford (a freight bypass of Dayton) at New Paris, the Richmond Branch and Fort Wayne Branch at Richmond, the Louisville Branch and I&F Branch at Indianapolis, and the Peoria Branch at Farrington, Illinois.

Large portions of the line have been abandoned; the only major pieces still in use are from Mingo Junction (west of Steubenville) to Columbus, operated by the Columbus and Ohio River Rail Road ( Ohio Central Railroad System), and west of Terre Haute, operated by CSX Transportation as part of its St. Louis Line Subdivision. Other existing pieces are from Rosslyn, Pennsylvania to Walkers Mill ( Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad), Weirton Junction, West Virginia to Mingo Junction ( Norfolk Southern Railway Weirton Secondary), Columbus to London, Ohio (NS Dayton District), Clement, Ohio to Dayton (NS ), just east of Richmond, Indiana (NS New Castle District), and from Indianapolis to Ben Davis, Indiana (CSX Crawfordsville Branch Subdivision).

The Main Line is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It begins in Long Island City and runs along the middle of Long Island about 95 miles (153 km) to Greenport. A mile east of Long Island City (east of Hunterspoint Avenue) the four tracks of the East River Tunnels join the two tracks from Long Island City; most Main Line trains use those tunnels rather than running to or from Long Island City.

Continuing east, five branches split from the Main Line; in order from west to east, they are:

• Port Washington Branch (at WOOD Interlocking in Woodside, Queens)
• Hempstead Branch (at QUEENS Interlocking along the Queens / Nassau County border)
• Oyster Bay Branch (at NASSAU Interlocking, east of Mineola station)
• Port Jefferson Branch (at DIVIDE Interlocking, east of Hicksville station)
• Central Branch (at BETH Interlocking, east of Bethpage station) – a single non-electrified track with no stations, connecting the Main Line to the Montauk Branch

Public timetables refer to the Main Line east of Hicksville as the Ronkonkoma Branch.

Trains on the Main Line between Long Island City and Ronkonkoma are governed by Automatic Block and Interlocking Signals and by Automatic Train Control (known as Automatic Speed Control by the LIRR). East of Ronkonkoma to Greenport trains operate in non-signalled or "Dark Territory", with all train movements governed by train orders and timetable authority.

The main line, or mainline in American English, of a railway is a track that is used for through trains or is the principal artery of the system from which branch lines, yards, sidings and spurs are connected. It generally refers to a route between towns, as opposed to a route providing suburban or metro services. For capacity reasons, main lines in many countries have at least a double track and often contain multiple parallel tracks. Main line tracks are typically operated at higher speeds than branch lines and are generally built and maintained to a higher standard than yards and branch lines. Main lines may also be operated under shared access by a number of railway companies, with sidings and branches operated by private companies or single railway companies.

Railway points (UK) or switches (US) are usually set in the direction of the main line by default. Failure to do so has been a factor in several fatal railway accidents, for example the Buttevant Rail Disaster in Ireland, and the Graniteville train disaster in the US.

In the UK, the term "main line" may also be used to distinguish any train or track that is not part of a light-rail or underground network.