Famous Railroad Landmarks and LocationsRailroad landmarks and famous locations can be distinguished by noteworthy structures and feats, which were extremely difficult to accomplish. These include such things as impressive bridges and mountain passes, which required long tunnels to circumvent (such as Moffat Tunnel). For purposes of this site we will discount stations and depots since there is already a section of the website covering that topic. Today, many of these landmarks remain in regular use, some more than a century old and even those locations which have been abandoned still carry an aura about them.
With the resurgence of rail over the last 30+ years it remains to be seen if a new awe-inspiring bridge or tunnel will be attempted although with mountains of paperwork now required, like environmental reviews and public acceptance, the chances are slim. As colossal as many of these engineering feats were perhaps what made some of them even more impressive was the materials used, particularly those projects built before concrete became an economical and viable support base. For instance, in the eastern United States many early bridges and viaducts were constructed using local stone, hand-cut and laid by experienced masons (most of which were Italian or Irish immigrants).
The precision and stoutness of their work continues to carry on today as most of these bridges (i.e., the Erie Railroad's Starrucca Viaduct in Pennsylvania, the B&O's Thomas Viaduct in Maryland, and the Pennsylvania Railroad's Rockville Bridge also in Pennsylvania) remain in regular use (they are also listed on either the National Register of Historic Places and/or as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark), more than 100 years since they were built! While this section looks to highlight many of the most famous railroad landmarks, such as bridges and tunnels, it will also look at well known locations and "railfan hot spots" such as the Santa Fe's Tehachapi Loop and the busy intersection that is Fostoria, Ohio. For more information regarding these landmarks please visit the appropriate link below (more coming soon!). Key West Extension/Florida Overseas Railroad Lucin Cutoff/Great Salt Lake Causeway
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