marine railway

noun

1. a railway having a rolling cradle for hauling ships out of water onto land and returning them.

marine railway

noun

1. another term for slipway

Word History and Origins

Origin of marine railway¹

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25

Example Sentences

It stands on the old Dover Marine railway yards, where more than a million wounded soldiers were brought home from the First World War.

From The New Yorker

“The Sequoia, an elderly and vulnerable wooden yacht, is sitting on an inadequate cradle on an undersized marine railway in a moribund boatyard on the western shore of the Chesapeake, deteriorating and, lately, home to raccoons,” Glasscock noted.

From The Guardian

"The Sequoia, an elderly and vulnerable wooden yacht, is sitting on an inadequate cradle on an undersized marine railway in a moribund boatyard on the western shore of the Chesapeake, deteriorating and, lately, home to raccoons," wrote Delaware judge Sam Glasscock in his Monday ruling.

From Reuters

Drakes Bay was a more protected location, where a 36-foot motorized lifeboat was launched on a long marine railway.

From Seattle Times

It is the only station in the country that still has a marine railway — a launch that was used to send rescue boats into the water, Reid said.

From US News