The United States has many railroads and this site is to inform railfans as to how and where they can find these railroads to photograph them.  They range from the small shortline railroads to the extremely large Class I railroads.  The shortline railroad is a small railroad that operates a short mileage of track and usually doesn't operate seven days a week like the larger railroads.  Shortline railroads usually operate little branch lines that the larger railroads don't want to operate.  They usually operate in only one or two states.  A couple examples of some shortline railroads are:  Nebraska Northeastern Railroad and the Caney Fork & Western Railroad.

     This Minnesota Commercial is just one of the many railroads you can find information on. You can also find maps, pictures, and other useful information to help you find and photograph these railroads.

     There are also regional railroads, they are larger than shortline railroads but smaller than the Class I railroads.  These railroads usually operate hundreds of miles of track and haul large amounts of carloads every year.  There isn't as many of these railroads as there are shortlines.  These railroads usually operate in 3-5 states, sometimes one or two more.  Some examples of these types of railroads are:  Montana Rail Link and the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad.

     The largest of all railroads is the Class I railroads.  They are the railroads that operate thousands of miles of track in a dozen or more states.  They haul about every type of cargo imaginable.  They own over a thousand locomotives and over one hundred thousand cars.  They are the most seen and know railroads in the United States.  The current largest Class I Railroad is the Union Pacific.  The Union Pacific Railroad operates about everywhere from Chicago to the West coast.  Class I Railroads aren't covered at this website, but if you want to see any pictures of any special paint schemes that these railroads have had check out the Class I pictures page.

     Not all these railroads can operate without a little help.  So there are companies that lease locomotives or rail cars to help a railroad in its operations.  They are considered to be Leasing outfits that help railroads that don't have enough supplies to operate.  These railroads don't operate any track of there own, so they are all over on any railroads track that they have been leased to.  They can be seen everywhere so there is no one place to go to see a particular one.  These are basically found by luck.

     All railroads need some maintenance every once in a while.  Maintenance of Way (MOW) is usually equipment or locomotives that are owned by railroads or private companies that are designated to doing maintenance or inspecting of rail.  The one's owned by private companies are usually seen by luck but the one's owned by the railroads are usually stationed somewhere and can be seen quite often if you know where they are located.

     With all the years that railroads have been around and the constant changing with railroads there are many that don't exist anymore.  These railroads are considered Fallen Flags.  Some of these railroads have been gone for many years and some have only been gone for a few months.  Some of these railroads have locomotives that are not painted over yet wandering around in a larger railroad.  These are usually seen occasionally but most can only be seen in a museum.

     Every once in awhile I will include news on some of the things that are happening in the railroad business.  If you would like more news information check out the news section at trainsmag.com.   

     If you have any questions, comments, or want some more information on a particular railroad, please e-mail me.