Main Line – The principal line of a railway (1841), it also has the meaning “affluent area of residence” (1930s), originally 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 in late 19th century that helped turn them into fashionable suburbs. More…
one-track mind – Is a reference to the railway. More…
railway – The word was first recorded in 1776, but the first actual railway opened nearly 50 years later, in 1825. More…
sidetrack – First used for a railway siding or a minor track or path. More…