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I want to describe a train which is going out of rails. In Farsi/Persian language we say an "out of line train" but I am not sure about English. I found something about out of rails not out of line or lines. Also, there is a doubt that can I use it for broken trains too which are not in use anymore?

Persian Cat
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1 Answers1

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If I'm understanding you correctly, you are referring to a train that is being removed from service, and not to a train that has derailed from the tracks. If I'm right about that, then the word decommissioned might apply:

decommission (v.) to stop using something such as a weapon, ship, or nuclear power station (Macmillan)

If you are instead referring to a train that is off the tracks (due to a mechanical malfunction), you would say the train has derailed, or is off the tracks, or is off the rails, although that last expression is also a euphemism for "going insane", much like off his rocker. As Ozzy Ozbourne sang: "I'm going off the rails on a crazy train!"

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J.R.
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  • Can I use "out of line" train for a train that has derailed from tracks? And thanks for suggesting decommissioned for a train is being removed from service. – Persian Cat Mar 12 '13 at 08:47
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    @user37324 -- I doubt that a native speaker of US English would immediately understand "out of line" for a train that is off the tracks. (I understand "out of line" usually to mean "misbehaving", which wouldn't be applicable to a train or other inanimate object.) – barbara beeton Mar 12 '13 at 17:47
  • @barbarabeeton Thanks! As I said it is a Persian term and I translated it word by word in English to find if it makes sense or not and found it. – Persian Cat Mar 12 '13 at 17:49