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Author Topic: Railway station vs train station  (Read 51881 times)
Reading General
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« Reply #15 on: December 06, 2019, 11:31:02 »

Simon and Garfunkel use railway station in the tune Homeward Bound, rather than the popular American ‘railroad’...

Maybe becaue Paul Simon wrote the song at Widnes railway station - of all places!

Plus, if he was tempted to reamericanise it later, putting "railroad" in would make it much less singable. Adding even a soft American "d" to the consonant group "st" at the end of a short syllable blocks the metrical flow of the piece.
Multisyllabic rhyming
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broadgage
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« Reply #16 on: December 06, 2019, 12:37:25 »

I would prefer "railway station" as that is the traditional term in the UK (United Kingdom).
This however is not a subject on which I have strong feelings, and is a long way behind many other things to worry about. Including BOTH the "B words"
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« Reply #17 on: December 06, 2019, 13:26:43 »

I would prefer "railway station" as that is the traditional term in the UK (United Kingdom).

Well in that case you must continue to use it. Me? I'll stick to 'train station' - do I look good in ripped jeans?
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« Reply #18 on: December 06, 2019, 16:54:46 »

Simon and Garfunkel use railway station in the tune Homeward Bound, rather than the popular American ‘railroad’.<snip> Pedantic.
Strictly speaking, they use it in the lyrics, not the tune.

Hit me slow, hit me quick! Hit me with your pedant stick!
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« Reply #19 on: December 06, 2019, 18:06:23 »

This is one of those Whack-a-Mole topics...

I make no apology for once again referring readers to Michael Quinion's article which covers the etymology of a host of railway terms, on both sides of the pond. Quinion's article is getting on a bit now, but I think the gist of it remains true.

Whether you choose to say 'train station' or 'railway station', almost everyone will know what you mean.

Your choice could however be a dog-whistle to anyone with sensitive hearing: Using 'railway station' might suggest to the listener that you are the kind of person who thinks miles are morally superior to kilometres, or who prefers to know what the temperature is in Fahrenheit (on hot days, anyway), and who secretly misses the half-crown coin. Using 'train station', on the other hand, might make you look like a pensioner dressed in Aeropostale.

Live and let live, I say.

Thanks for posting the link to Michael Quinion's article.

Curiously, he doesn't mention "depot" - see "High Noon" throughout.
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eightonedee
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« Reply #20 on: December 08, 2019, 21:06:19 »

While I am a "railway station" rather than a "train station" person, I don't think that this linguistic shift matches what has happened to another term since I was a 6 year old trainspotter in the early 1960s - Engine Sheds became Motive Power Depots (which sounds rather grand for a place filled with filthy neglected blue diesels) to "Train Care Depots" - which sounds like they get pedicures and massages!
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Bmblbzzz
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« Reply #21 on: December 09, 2019, 12:15:47 »

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« Reply #22 on: December 12, 2019, 16:52:46 »

Not a railway station, nor a train station, but a...

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JontyMort
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« Reply #23 on: December 12, 2019, 16:56:40 »

Not a railway station, nor a train station, but a...



Except in Scotland, where it's a Polling Place.
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Bmblbzzz
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« Reply #24 on: December 12, 2019, 17:21:29 »

And in Wales I guess it's a safl reilfordd "polling".
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« Reply #25 on: December 12, 2019, 19:47:20 »

So that's why they looked confused when I turned up the vote at the local Police Station?
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Bmblbzzz
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« Reply #26 on: December 13, 2019, 18:15:41 »

I thought heddlu was a Welsh heffalump.
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« Reply #27 on: May 17, 2021, 05:47:15 »

The Mirror

Quote
Eagle-eyed viewers spot Lily James 'train station' blunder in The Pursuit of Love

[snip]

... some viewers took umbrage with Linda's turn of phrase and claimed that people wouldn't have said "train station" during that time period. ...

I'm not sure how many people would say "train station" rather that "railway station" even today ...
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