railroad

name

1. A borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, so-named for the Northern Central Railway.
2. A township in Starke County, Indiana, United States.

noun

Etymology: From rail + road.

1. A permanent track consisting of fixed metal rails to drive trains or similar motorized vehicles on.

   “Many railroads roughly follow the trace of older land or water roads.”

2. The transportation system comprising such tracks and vehicles fitted to travel on the rails, usually with several vehicles connected together in a train.
3. A single, privately or publicly owned property comprising one or more such tracks and usually associated assets

   “Railroads can only compete fully if their tracks are technically compatible with and linked to each other.”

4. A procedure conducted in haste without due consideration.

   “The lawyers made the procedure a railroad to get the signatures they needed.”

   “Gregory Scroggins, a PWA [person with AIDS] in Georgia who was found guilty of assault with intent to commit murder for biting a cop during arrest. It took only three days in October of 1989 to charge, try, convict and sentence Scroggins, who is now serving a 10-year sentence and has been denied bail (and medical treatment) pending appeal. […] Judy Siff of ACT/UP/Atlanta told GCN that Scroggins' case was a "railroad" of unbelievable proportions.”

verb

Etymology: From rail + road.

1. To transport via railroad.
2. To operate a railroad.

   “The Thatcherite experiment proved the private sector can railroad as inefficiently as a state monopoly.”

3. To work for a railroad.

   “She used to railroad for the Southern Pacific.”

4. To travel by railroad.
5. To engage in a hobby pertaining to railroads.
6. To manipulate and hasten a procedure, as of formal approval of a law or resolution.

   “The majority railroaded the bill through parliament, without the customary expert studies which would delay it till after the elections.”

   “Sebastian Riedel lodged a complaint with TPF board, which he says was railroaded by a board member—therefore, Riedel quit.”

7. To convict of a crime by circumventing due process.

   “They could only convict him by railroading him on suspect drug-possession charges.”

   “My witnesses were not questioned to my advantage. Physical evidence in my attorney's possession was not presented to the jury. A promised expert witness was not called nor even sought. I knew that I was being railroaded but I was helpless.”

8. To procedurally bully someone into an unfair agreement.

   “He was railroaded into signing a non-disclosure agreement at his exit interview.”

   “Also on Friday, The Daily News published a column by Richard Azzopardi, a senior adviser to the governor, who wrote that Mr. Cuomo had been “railroaded” by Ms. James, a Democrat who is considered a possible candidate for governor next year but who has not said she plans to run.”

9. To force players to follow the dungeon master's planned plot rather than improvise an alternative story.
10. To run fabric horizontally instead of the usual vertically.

    “If you are upholstering a larger item, such as a sofa, it's a good idea to see if the fabric you are buying can be railroaded. Railroading refers to being able to run the fabric from left to right, rather than the conventional top to bottom. […][W]hen a pattern is railroaded you can turn it on its side and roll it out to the width of the sofa without join lines.”