Contact American-Rails.com
If you need to contact me, for whatever reason, please do not hesitate to do so. Also, if you have any suggestions about how to improve the site, see a minor error here or there, and/or have an idea for a new topic please let me know. I am always looking to improve things here at American-Rails.com and your input is greatly appreciated. In any event, just fill out the basic contact information below and I will get back to you (if need be) as soon as possible. Thanks so much and I appreciate you stopping by the website; hope to see you back soon! Take care and best regards,
~ Adam Burns
American-Rails.com
Genealogy Researchers Please Read!
If you are researching a relative's career history in the railroad industry you may want to contact the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board as there is little assistance I can provide regarding such questions. The Board keeps records on workers dating back to the early 20th century and they are likely source for such information. However, if you are requesting documents prior to the early 1900s the Board likely does not have them on file. Please be aware that the organization requires a fee for any research done on your behalf.
Job Searchers Please Note!
If you are inquiring about a possible jobs within the industry please be aware you cannot do so through this website. I receive many e-mails regarding employment and there is simply little help I can provide.
Business-To-Business Inquiries!
If you are a business attempting to contact a railroad regarding freight shipments car location please know that you will not reach them through this contact page (your request will come to American-Rails.com). I receive many e-mails about questions pertaining to a business's rail shipments and there is nothing I can do to help.
Historic Railroad Item Values!
If you are researching the value of historic railroad items in your collection, anything from old lanterns and locks to paper tickets and menus, please visit the website Railroadiana.org.
I often receive e-mails wanting to know the value of an item. I
apologize but I can provide little help on the subject and
Railroadiana.org specializes in that very arena. Hopefully, they can
provide answers to your questions.
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Researching Rights-Of-Way
A popular pastime for many is studying and/or exploring abandoned rights-of-way. Today, there are tens of thousands of miles scattered throughout the country. Many were pulled up in the 1970's and 1980's although others were removed long before that. If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Historical Topographic Map Explorer. It is an excellent resource with thousands of historic maps on file throughout the country. Just type in a town or city and click on the timeline of maps at the bottom of the page!
Studying Diesels
You will be hard pressed at finding a better online resource regarding diesel locomotives than Craig Rutherford's TheDieselShop.us. The website contains everything from historic (fallen flags) to contemporary (Class I's, regionals, short lines, and even some museums/tourist lines) rosters, locomotive production information, technical data, all notable models cataloged by the five major builders (American Locomotive, Electro-Motive, General Electric, Fairbanks-Morse, and Baldwin), and much more. A highly recommended database!
Electro-Motive Database
In 1998 a gentleman by the name of Andre Kristopans put together a web page highlighting virtually every unit every out-shopped by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. Alas, in 2013 the site closed by thankfully Don Strack rescued the data and transferred it over to his UtahRails.net site (another fine resource). If you are researching anything EMD related please visit this page first. The information includes original numbers, serials, and order numbers.