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by hathawsh 1492 days ago
Trains usually go on rails; this is a train (a series of physically linked cars) that goes on many kinds of land instead of rails. The name fits IMHO.
2 comments

> Trains usually go on rails

Usually indeed. Besides accidental derailments, there was a time in the late 90s when a town in Canada intentionally derailed a diesel-electric locomotive and drove it down the street half a mile under its own power so they could use it as an emergency generator. The road needed to be repaired, but apparently the locomotive was fine and eventually returned to regular service.

Here's a HN post from a few months back discussing: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26233736
I suppose they do fine on land as long as you don't drop them:

https://trainfanatics.com/locomotive-dropped-dock/

Camel trains? Mule trains? thought trains?

Etymology 1 From Middle English trayne (“train”), from Old French train (“a delay, a drawing out”), from traïner (“to pull out, to draw”), from Vulgar Latin traginō, from tragō, from Latin trahō (“to pull, to draw”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tregʰ- (“to pull, draw, drag”). The verb was derived from the noun in Middle English. (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/train)

A group of people following an important figure such as a king or noble; a retinue, a group of retainers. [from 14th c.] A group of animals, vehicles, or people that follow one another in a line, such as a wagon train; a caravan or procession. [from 15th c.] The men and vehicles following an army, which carry artillery and other equipment for battle or siege. [from 16th c.]

lots of trains don't go on rails.