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.

I have always held a personal interest in trains for most of my life, from everything to the miniature models that one can purchase at their local hobby shop to the real thing. Over that time I have begun to use the Internet more and more as a resource tool to find answers on rail-related questions I have had. While there are dozens and dozens of excellent websites out there for one to locate these answers I was finding it a bit frustrating that there was no one website which did this.

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 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!

Please Note!: Please bear with me, the website is being built as fast I can type the information but with so much yet to go I am still extremely swamped! Rest assured, however, that the pages will fill up with links detailing each and every topic covered on the website. Also, right now I am in desperate need of pictures, everything from fallen flag railroads to locomotives. If you may be interested in allowing your photos/collection to be shared here please visit the Contact Page to get in touch with me and you will both be credited for your work as well as receive my deepest thanks for allowing the material to be posted. I need about anything that I can get at this point!

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Fallen Flags, Fallen Flags, The Classic American Railroads, Which Through Mergers Formed Today's Class I Systems

Passenger Railroading, Travel By Train Passenger Railroading, Travel By Train

Class Is Class Is, Today's "Mega Railroads" and Industry Leaders

Regionals, Class II Railroads Regionals; Operations Like a Class I But With a Shortline Attitude

Shortlines Shortlines, they may be short, but their customer service can't be beat!

State-To-State Railroading Operations State-To-State Railroading Operations

Electric Locomotives Electric Locomotives, The Epitome of Efficiency

Diesel Locomotives Diesel Locomotives, Vanquishers of Steam

Steam Locomotives Steam Locomotives, Power In Motion!

Streamliners, The Classic Passenger Train Streamliners: The Classic American Passenger Train

Railroad Freight Cars Railroad Freight Cars, All Different Types But With One Specific Purpose, Moving Goods!

Railroad Magazines Railroad Magazines, Publications Which Keep You Up-To-Date On The Industry Or Assistance With That Modeling Project You May Be Doing!

Railroad Museums Railroad Museums, Preserving Our Railroading's Past for Future Generations

Railroad Stations Railroad Stations and Depots, Both Historical Buildings and Architectural Masterpieces

Railroading Terms Railroading Terms, Definitions and Meanings

The American Rails Forums The American Rails Forums

Trackside, The Newsletter Trackside, The Newsletter

Contact American Rails Need to Contact Me? To Do So Just Visit This Page and Fill Out the Form, and I Should Be In Touch Shortly

The American Rails Search Page The American Rails Search Page, Making the Lost Found Again :o)

American Rails Links American Rails Links, High Quality Related Web Sites

American Rails Thank You Many Thanks to Several Good Friends and Resources Who Helped Make this Website Possible

The American Rails Privacy Policy The American Rails Privacy Policy

The American Rails Terms of Use The American Rails Terms of Use, Important Information Regarding Using This Site