There was a time in this country when railroads crisscrossed the nation, one could find a pair of railroad tracks only a very short distance from their home, and almost every town, large and small, boasted a train station of some type.

Sadly, as the 20th century progressed rail began to lose its luster and in the waning days between the 1950s and 1970s enormous amounts of our rail heritage was either abandoned or ripped up, most notably structures and landmarks such as New York City’s legendary Pennsylvania Station and the Central Railroad of New Jersey’s magnificent Newark Bay Bridge. Since that time the public has taken a greater interest in preserving our remaining rail history, including important railroad lines (either still standing and/or in place today) and stations/depots.

After some time I began to think, why not just create such a website myself? And that, in a nutshell, is the basis behind American-Rails.com, a website dedicated not only to bringing awareness about our country’s railroad history, both past and present, but also as a resource tool describing and educating about American railroading in general.

Similarly, it is my hope that American-Rails.com can be a beneficial guide for both those “railfans” out there like myself who may be wanting to know the detailed particulars on a subject (for instance, say, wanting to know about the demise of the Milwaukee Road) as well as someone with a passing interest looking for an answer to a common railroading question.

I will state up front that I in no way claim to be a bonefide expert on the industry and while the information presented here at American-Rails.com is as accurate as I can possibly make it I am aware that there is the likelihood for a minor error here or there so please feel very free to send me an e-mail if you see a correction which needs to be made (and my sincere thanks in advance). This is perfectly fine with me because I am very interested in always learning more about railroading myself as well as helping others with questions they might have. With all of the above said, I really appreciate your time and interest in visiting the site and without bugging you further feel free to explore around the site using either the navigation buttons located along the left side of the page or the links here at the bottom of the homepage. Have fun and I hope you enjoy the site!

The local community of Midland, Ohio is attempting to preserve and restore a former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad depot located in the town, currently owned by CSX Transportation. For more information about their efforts please visit their website.

American-Rails.com is a recognized Family Friendly Site so rest assured that the content provided here is available to all ages, free of any derogatory and/or mature-only content.