American 'Railways'

[meldrum]

Just been watching 'Lifeline of the nation' ,a 1940's film by the American Railroad Association about it's vital role in in the war. At 14:47 there is mention and a clip of the 'United States Mail Railway Post Office',note not 'Railroad' but 'Railway'! So not knowing too much about US rail history can anybody explain the use of the word 'Railway' and is it still used there today?

[melton]

Of the four really big players in the US today, two are ‘railways’ –
Norfolk Southern and BNSF.
The other two are ‘railroads’ – Union Pacific and CSX.
Of the regional and short line roads, ‘railroad’ seems to have it.

[richard]

"Railway" has been use since the beginning, and even in the UK "railroad" was pretty common early on.

Often a US company would switch between railroad and railway (either direction) when it reformed after a bankruptcy. Santa Fe (now BNSF) has been 'railway' since the very early days, perhaps when it was first formed.

Our local "Trinity Railway Express" is known as "TRE" so most people think the "R" is "railroad" or "river" (the Trinity is a river).

[GateGhost]

Yeah, I've seen both. U.P. has always been a Railroad since the 1800's.