wharfinger

1. (nautical, chiefly historical) The manager or owner of a wharf (“artificial landing place for ships on a riverbank or shore”).Examples: "Near-synonym: dockmaster"; "And be it further enacted by the authority aforeſaid, that if any wharfinger, crane keeper, ſearcher, lyghterman, weighter or other officer pertayning to the ſubſidie cuſtome, or cuſtome houſe, doo at any time after the ſaid day, conſent or knowe any offence or thing to bee committed or done contrary to yͤ true meani[n]g of this act, or any article ther in contained, and doo not within one moneth next after knowledge thereof had, diſcloſe the ſame to the chiefe cuſtomer […] ſhall for euery ſuch concelement, or not diſcloſing ſuch offence as is aforeſaid, forf[eit] & loſe C.li. of good and lawful money of England."; "If fine goods or the like are put into a cloſe Lighter and to be conveyed from the Ship to the Key, it is uſual there that the Maſter ſends a Competent number of his Marriners to look to the Merchandize, if then any of the goods are loſt or imbezled, the Maſter is reſponſible and not the VVharfinger; but if ſuch goods are to be ſent aboard a Ship, there the VVharfinger at his peril muſt take care the ſame be preſerved."Synonyms: wharfmasterhistorical

2. (by extension, England, rail transport) The manager of a wharf along a railway line, that is, a place used for loading and unloading goods on to trains.Examples: "A female wharfinger—a grade of staff peculiar to the Wenford Mineral Line—lives in an adjacent house."Englandbroadly