Notes and queries

Railway station or train station? The little bit of you that belonged to someone else; Who's looking after the shelducklings
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railway station steam train notes and queries
The age of the railway station. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian

When did "railway station" become "train station"?

Probably around the time that kilometers became kilometers, when things that were "up to you" were suddenly "down to you", when people started saying they felt "good" and not "well", and when adverbs became an endangered species. Oh, and when people stopping sitting and standing and were just "sat" or "stood".

Rosemary Chamberlin, Bristol

Railway stations have many designations, but "train depot" is probably the commonest in the English-speaking world. The Russian railways have the most interesting one, vokshol, which derives from an early visit to British railways and the then main London terminus at Vauxhall. The Russian word derives from this because of a misunderstanding that "Vauxhall" meant "train station".

Brian Robinson, Brentwood, Essex

This is another attempt by our American cousins to "modernise" the language. My wife, Susan, originally from Louisiana, places railway in the ancient and obscure lingo category, along with aeroplane, motor car, carriageway and even charabanc.

Jonathan Street, Etchingham, E Sussex

According to the Google Books Ngram Viewer, which calculates the frequency of phrases in all books scanned by Google from 1800 to 2000, the phrase "train station" was first used significantly in 1960, and has been growing in popularity ever since. However, at least according to Google's data, "railway station" is still more popular.

Robin Wilson, Southampton

In 1963, when Lord Beeching closed down more than half of them.

David Prothero, Harpenden, Herts

For me, it was when I realised that modes of transport generally stop at places named after the type of transport itself, rather than what it rides on. It's why we don't catch a bus at a road station, and why we have tram stops, monorail stations, helipads, bike racks and car parks. Ports and airports are the exceptions and I see no reason for trains to be dispensated any longer.

Steve Smith, Lancaster

I suppose one of the reasons why "train station" is used rather than "railway station" is because it's easier to say, but why not just plain "station"? We say we are going to meet someone "at the station" and the road to it will probably be called "Station Road", not "Railway Station Road", let alone "Train Station Road". So when did "station" become "railway station"?

Roger Hand, Stoke St Gregory, Somerset

Where have all the atoms that constitute "me" been since the creation of the Earth? Have they been part of other people through the ages?

Pretty much all of the atoms that constitute me have come because I have breathed and eaten. For simplicity, I will neglect the breathing (and note that some of what I have breathed will previously have been exhaled by some other animal or plant).

The total mass of the biosphere is difficult to estimate: for example, some say that a large proportion may be microbes in the deep ocean. However, several estimates cluster around 1.8 to 2.0 x 1012kg.

The total mass of people who have died is also difficult to estimate. One estimate of the total number that have ever been born is about 106 billion. Take away the 6 billion or so still living in 2002, and assume the average (adult) mass at death is 60kg, and it turns out that the mass of people who have died (and returned their mass to the biosphere) is about 0.3% of the mass of the biosphere. Assuming the biosphere is well mixed, about 0.3% of me has come from other people: and as I'm about 75kg, that equals 250 grams – perhaps it's my ears?

Dick Millard, Swindon

I came across 17 young Canada geese sitting closely together on a lake with two adult geese as minders. Is this creche arrangement customary?

I have seen this in other waterbirds: when I worked as a warden at Newborough Warren reserve in Anglesey I saw creches of more than 100 shelducklings. There is probably little cost to the childminders and it occurs to me (based on no evidence) that the ducklings probably have a herding instinct. I am not sure that they will be necessarily be related.

I wonder, do non-water birds such as chickens exhibit similar behaviour? Gulls and gannets that nest in colonies and put considerable energy into raising their young show considerable aggression towards the offspring of other members of the colony – I have seen a young Herring Gull attack, kill and partially eat a smaller nestling that had lost its way.

Nicholas Richards, London SW2

Any answers?

Why do spiders set up home in car wing-mirrors? We had one that travelled to France and back with us in the summer.

Alison Chouvelon, Manchester

Why are footballers so unfit? They get tired if they have to play more than once a week, even though they spend most of a match jogging about. Tennis players often have four three-hour matches in a week, at much higher intensity.

John Justice, Berkhamsted


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