What is "rail"

Rail \Rail\, n. [F. r[^a]le, fr. r[^a]ler to have a rattling in the throat; of German origin, and akin to E. rattle. See Rattle, v.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds of the family Rallid[ae], especially those of the genus Rallus, and of closely allied genera. They are prized as game birds.

Note: The common European water rail ( Rallus aquaticus) is called also bilcock, skitty coot, and brook runner. The best known American species are the clapper rail, or salt-marsh hen ( Rallus longirostris, var. crepitans); the king, or red-breasted, rail ( Rallus elegans) (called also fresh-water marshhen); the lesser clapper, or Virginia, rail ( Rallus Virginianus); and the Carolina, or sora, rail ( Porzana Carolina). See Sora.

Land rail (Zo["o]l.), the corncrake.

Rail \Rail\ (r[=a]l), n. [OE. reil, re[yogh]el, AS. hr[ae]gel, hr[ae]gl, a garment; akin to OHG. hregil, OFries. hreil.] An outer cloak or covering; a neckerchief for women.
--Fairholt.

Rail \Rail\, v. i. [Etymol. uncertain.] To flow forth; to roll out; to course. [Obs.]

Streams of tears from her fair eyes forth railing.
--Spenser.

Rail \Rail\, n. [Akin to LG. & Sw. regel bar, bolt, G. riegel a rail, bar, or bolt, OHG. rigil, rigel, bar, bolt, and possibly to E. row a line.]

1. A bar of timber or metal, usually horizontal or nearly so, extending from one post or support to another, as in fences, balustrades, staircases, etc.

2. (Arch.) A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling. See Illust. of Style.

3. (Railroad) A bar of steel or iron, forming part of the track on which the wheels roll. It is usually shaped with reference to vertical strength, and is held in place by chairs, splices, etc.

4. (Naut.)

   1. The stout, narrow plank that forms the top of the bulwarks.

   2. The light, fencelike structures of wood or metal at the break of the deck, and elsewhere where such protection is needed.

5. A railroad as a means of transportation; as, to go by rail; a place not accesible by rail.

6. a railing. Rail fence. See under Fence. Rail guard.

   1. A device attached to the front of a locomotive on each side for clearing the rail of obstructions.

   2. A guard rail. See under Guard.

      Rail joint (Railroad), a splice connecting the adjacent ends of rails, in distinction from a chair, which is merely a seat. The two devices are sometimes united. Among several hundred varieties, the fish joint is standard. See Fish joint, under Fish.

      Rail train (Iron & Steel Manuf.), a train of rolls in a rolling mill, for making rails for railroads from blooms or billets.

Rail \Rail\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Railed (r[=a]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Railing.]

1. To inclose with rails or a railing.

   It ought to be fenced in and railed.
   --Ayliffe.

2. To range in a line. [Obs.]

   They were brought to London all railed in ropes, like a team of horses in a cart.
   --Bacon.

Rail \Rail\, v. i. [F. railler; cf. Sp. rallar to grate, scrape, molest; perhaps fr. (assumed) LL. radiculare, fr. L. radere to scrape, grate. Cf. Rally to banter, Rase.] To use insolent and reproachful language; to utter reproaches; to scoff; -- followed by at or against, formerly by on.
--Shak.

And rail at arts he did not understand.
--Dryden.

Lesbia forever on me rails.
--Swift.

Rail \Rail\ (r[=a]l), v. t.

1. To rail at. [Obs.]
   --Feltham.

2. To move or influence by railing. [R.]

   Rail the seal from off my bond.
   --Shak.

"horizontal bar passing from one post or support to another," c.1300, from Old French reille "bolt, bar," from Vulgar Latin *regla, from Latin regula "straight stick," diminutive form related to regere "to straighten, guide" (see regal). Used figuratively for thinness from 1872. To be off the rails in a figurative sense is from 1848, an image from the railroads. In U.S. use, "A piece of timber, cleft, hewed, or sawed, inserted in upright posts for fencing" [Webster, 1830].

"small wading bird," mid-15c., from Old French raale (13c.), related to râler "to rattle," of unknown origin, perhaps imitative of its cry.

"complain," mid-15c., from Middle French railler "to tease or joke" (15c.), perhaps from Old Provençal ralhar "scoff, to chat, to joke," from Vulgar Latin *ragulare "to bray" (source also of Italian ragghiare "to bray"), from Late Latin ragere "to roar," probably of imitative origin. See rally (v.2). Related: Railed; railing.

"fence in with rails," late 14c., from rail (n.1). Related: Railed; railing.

Etymology 1 n. A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing. vb. 1 (context intransitive English) To travel by railway. 2 (context transitive English) To enclose with rails or a railing. 3 (context transitive English) To range in a line. Etymology 2

n. Any of several birds in the family Rallidae. Etymology 3

vb. To complain violently ((term: against), (term: about)). Etymology 4

n. 1 (context obsolete English) An item of clothing; a cloak or other garment; a dress. 2 (context obsolete English) Specifically, a woman's headscarf or neckerchief. Etymology 5

vb. (label en obsolete) To gush, flow (of liquid).

1. n. a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports [syn: railing]

2. short for railway; "he traveled by rail"; "he was concerned with rail safety"

3. a bar or bars of rolled steel making a track along which vehicles can roll [syn: track, rails]

4. a horizontal bar (usually of wood)

5. any of numerous widely distributed small wading birds of the family Rallidae having short wings and very long toes for running on soft mud

1. v. complain bitterly [syn: inveigh]

2. enclose with rails; "rail in the old graves" [syn: rail in]

3. provide with rails; "The yard was railed"

4. separate with a railing; "rail off the crowds from the Presidential palace" [syn: rail off]

5. convey (goods etc.) by rails; "fresh fruit are railed from Italy to Belgium"

6. travel by rail or train; "They railed from Rome to Venice"; "She trained to Hamburg" [syn: train]

7. lay with rails; "hundreds of miles were railed out here"

8. fish with a hand-line over the rails of a boat; "They are railing for fresh fish"

9. spread negative information about; "The Nazi propaganda vilified the Jews" [syn: vilify, revile, vituperate]

10. criticize severely; "He fulminated against the Republicans' plan to cut Medicare"; "She railed against the bad social policies" [syn: fulminate]

RAIL may refer to:

• Runway Alignment Indicator Lights, part of an approach lighting system (ALS)
• RAIL (magazine), UK railway interest magazine
• Rural Appalachian Improvement League, USA non-profit organisation

RAIL is a UK magazine on the subject of current rail transport in Great Britain. It is published every two weeks by Bauer Consumer Media and is available in the transport sections of many British newsagents. It is targeted primarily at the enthusiast market (those whose hobby is railways, rather than their occupation), but also covers business issues, often in depth.

RAIL is more than three decades old, and was known as Rail Enthusiast from its launch in 1981 until 1988. It is one of only two railway magazines that increased its circulation in 2012 (the other being The Railway Magazine, published monthly, which RAIL outperforms overall). It has had roughly the same cover design for at least a decade, with a capitalised italic red RAIL along the top of the front cover.

Rail is an American rock band that briefly achieved national fame after winning the grand prize of MTV's Basement Tapes competition in 1983. Before starting their recording career the group was well known in the Seattle area under the names "Rail & Company" and "Rail & Co."

The band was formed by drummer Kelly Nobles, bassist/singer Terry James Young and guitarist Andy Baldwin at Highland Junior High School in Bellevue, Washington in 1970. Interlake High School mate Rick Knotts joined the band in 1973.

Rail won a best local band award from Seattle rock station KZOK-FM in 1978. The band entered the Billboard 200 albums chart with its self-titled EMI America Records release "Rail". The band toured with Van Halen, Heart, Ted Nugent, Blue Öyster Cult, Three Dog Night, The Beach Boys, Nazareth, and others.

Rail released three albums and one EP between 1980–1997 and remains a long-touring staple of the Washington local music scene. Although not officially recognized on any of their albums, during the early to mid-80's several well known local artists appeared as guest performers live and in the studio. In 1985 they were joined by guitarist Ronnie Montrose for several months. He was looking for a new band, and Rick Knotts had recently left. Billed as "Rail featuring Ronnie Montrose" or "Ronnie & Rail," they played a set of half Rail favorites and half Montrose songs ("Rock Candy," "Rock the Nation," "Matriarch," and Gamma's remake of Thunderclap Newman's " Something in the Air"). At the end of the tour, there was an amicable split.

The original four members continue to perform and record together. In late 2009, the band began work on its 5th record.

Rail was an Australian band from Melbourne in the mid 1990s. The members were Dan Vertessy (vox & guitar), Dave Sayer (bass & vox), Ian Williams (drums & vox), Ash Naylor (guitar & vox). They were originally named Sleeper and a self-titled EP was released in the early '90s. Triple J picked up the track Spinning Ball from the Sleeper EP which was also included on their debut album. They changed their name to Fragment to avoid confusion with a UK band. As Fragment they recorded a single track for Roo Art's Young Blood compilation before settling on the name Rail. They signed to Mushroom Records' White Label in 1994 and released two albums. Their debut album was titled Bad Hair Life and was critically acclaimed. It contained the single "Immune Deficiency" which received a lot of radio and TV airplay on the ABC, specifically Triple J. Rail were nominated for Best New Talent & Breakthrough Artist at The 1996 ARIA Awards.

The single "Immune Deficiency" came in at 72 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 1995.

With record label interest in the US, Rail performed at the prestigious South by South West Conference & Festival in Austin Texas in 1996. The second album was titled Goodbye Surfing, Hello God, named after a Brian Wilson reference. Influenced by Neil Young plus (Alex Chilton/ Big Star, The Posies, Swervedriver & Teenage Fanclub), all of whom they supported,

Their second album Goodbye Surfing, Hello God was recorded at Sing Sing Studios Melbourne with New York producer Don Fleming (Teenage Fanclub, The Posies, Sonic Youth) in 1996. This was Naylor's final recording session with the band as he left to peruse his band Even.

Guitarist Dan O'Halloran replaced Naylor in 1997. O'Halloran left the band in mid 1998 & the band performed as trio for the remaining time with the occasional inclusion of keyboardist Craig Sayer. Rail performed at The Big Day Out Melbourne & The Falls Festival.

Television performances include Channel 31 Melbourne, ABC TV's Recovery (as the featured band) plus the programming of Rage in 1996. They split in late 1998. Drummer Ian Williams drowned in 1999.

Rail is a short 13.5 minute documentary film made by Geoffrey Jones for British Transport Films between 1963 and 1967, prompted by the success of Snow. The " pure cinema" film illustrated the transition from steam powered locomotives to diesel and electric traction which was taking place during that period.

Nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Short Film in 1968, it took four years to make, during which time British Railways changed their livery which required Jones to modify his plans for the film on his return from filming Trinidad and Tobago in 1964.