Emily Dickinson Lexicon

RAIL-ROAD, or RAIL-WAY, n. [rail and road, or way.]

A road or way on which iron rails are laid for wheels to run on, for the conveyance of heavy loads in vehicles. [It may be well to confine rail-road to the highway, in which a rail-way is laid, and to use rail-way only for the rails when laid. This would be a useful distinction.]