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Soon after we started this web site, we created a page called "Ask the Stationmaster" where visitors could post their railroad related questions. I greatly enjoyed doing the research necessary to answer the many (several hundred) questions posted there, but it was beginning to become much to time consuming. We have created a new page, the Railroad Answer Page, to assist visitors looking for answers to their railroad questions. Chances are, you will not find the answer to your question here, but you will find links and resources that we hope will lead you there. Most of the information here relates to North American Railroading Everybody is still welcome to email me with your questions and I also welcome suggestions for additions. TOPICS: Accidents Aerial Photographs of Railroads Caboose Information Conventions and Shows Drawings and Equipment Plans Genealogy Handcars High Speed Trains History How much is this worth? Locations for Railfanning Maps Museums and Tourist lines Photographs Records (highest, biggest, etc) Reporting Marks Resources for RR Research Rules, Signals and Safety Sound Effects Stations Timetables Track Gauge Train Whistles Travel by Rail RAILROAD ACCIDENTS Information about accidents involving major passenger trains should be found in newspaper archives. Most major libraries have the New York Times Index and the NY Times on microfilm. (Unfortunately I haven't found an online source). I.C.C. Historical Railroad Investigation Reports (1911-1966) I found the following at the Federal Railroad Administration page: FRA records date back to 1975. However, some records relating to railroad accident reports can be obtained at the following addresses: National Archives and Records Administration Textual Reference Branch (NNR2) National Archives at College Park 8601 Adelphi Road College Park, MD 20740-6001 Published railroad accident reports dating from 1901-1993. National Railway Historical Society Library 100 North 17th Street, 12th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103 The National Transportation Safety Board Public Inquires Branch 490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW Washington, DC 20594 Copies of the published ICC railroad accident reports dating from approximately 1918-1960. The California State Railroad Museum 111 i Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 Back to the Top AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF RAILROADS RailwayStation.com's Aerial Image Pages have a large collection of links to railroad images on the MS Terraserver. California Rails From Above the Air Aero Incorporated - Utah and Wyoming Eyes Over Colorado Buffalo, NY in 1950. Los Angeles area Illinois - some images from the 1930s-1940s Kite Aerial Photography for the do it yourselfer The National Archives holds many negatives of historical aerial photographs from U.S. federal agencies from before 1954 The Aerial Photography Field Office, Farm Service Agency - USDA dating from 1955 Back to the Top THE CABOOSE Caboose History Thinking about buying and moving a caboose? Click here for for advice Back to the Top CONVENTIONS and SHOWS Kalmbach Publishing's Trains.com site has a useful "Events Finder" Great American Train Show - schedule Back to the Top EQUIPMENT PLANS and DRAWINGS Railroad Paint Shop Railway Technical Web Pages PATENT DRAWINGS If you have a patent number, you can get an image of it at the US Patent Office web site. STEAM LOCOMOTIVES SteamLocomotive.com SteamCad Steam Locomotive parts Back to the Top GENEALOGY The Railroad Retirement board has information on railroad workers after 1936. Cyndi's List of railroad Genealogical Resources Back to the Top HANDCARS Handcar owner/operator Handcar drawings (plans) Handcar racing .org Handcar racing .com Handcar kit North American Railcar Operators Association Back to the Top HIGH SPEED TRAINS California High Speed Rail Authority Federal Railroad Administration - High Speed Ground Transportation California Intercity High Speed Rail Commission Report CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED Super-speed Las Vegas to Southern California Maglev Project High speed trains Back to the Top HISTORY of RAILROADS Corporate History Of Railroads In North America National Railway Historical Society Railroad History National Railroad Museum - Railroad History 19th Century RR History The History of the First Locomotives In America B & O Railroad Museum Sheboygan Society of Scale Model Railroad Engineers web site Central Pacific Railroad - Large site with many Photographs The Family Tree of North American Railroads CANADA Canadian Pacific Railway Archives C. Robert Craig Memorial Library Canadian Railroad Historical Association Trainscan.com RECOMMENDED BOOKS from Amazon.com (Railwaystation.com is an Amazon affiliate) The Historical Guide to North American Railroads : 160 Lines Abandoned or Merged Since 1930 by George H. Drury The Story of America's Railroads by Ray Spangenburg & Diane K. Moser. The Routledge Historical Atlas of the American Railroads Back to the Top HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH? I am often asked to estimate the value of railroad artifacts. My expertise is very limited so I recommend checking the the bid prices for completed auctions at eBay. eBay Search Professional Appraisals of items may be purchased at the Eppraisals.com which is the official appraisal service of Ebay. Back to the Top RAILFAN LOCATIONS FrogRail Railfan Locations Railroad Hotspots BOOKS Guide to North American Railroad Hot Spots by J. David Ingles Available from Amazon (RailwayStation.com is an Amazon affiliate) Back to the Top RAILROAD MAPS Maptech has Historical USGS topographic maps of the Northeastern United States online. North American Railroad Map for Windows Deskmap - wall maps and atlas U.S. Railroad Traffic Atlas by Harry Ladd SPV's 11 volume Railroad Atlas of North America Library of Congress Railroad Maps - 1828 to 1900 1895 State Maps TopoZone.com - topo maps for the entire United States Microsoft Terraserver - topo maps and aerial photographs Historic USGS Maps of New England Mexico Aerial photographs and USGS maps of trackage In Buffalo, NY in 1950 Buffalo NY Track Maps Statewide indexes to topographic maps may be ordered from the US Geological Survey: Topographic Maps, US Geological Survey Map Distribution P.O. Box 25286, Building 810 Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 Online British Rail Map Back to the Top MUSEUMS AND TOURIST LINES Railroad Museums and Tourist Lines (Map) TOURIST RAILWAY ASSOCIATION Back to the Top RAILROAD PHOTOGRAPHS ONLINE Fallen Flag and Shortline Railroad Photos The Railfan Network CyberWorld of Trains Richard Leonard's Steam Locomotive Archive Denver Public Library History Photos - Includes Otto Perry Collection National Archives Digital Images Online Archive of California Rob's RailRoad Images Civil War Pictures Canadian National Railway Historic Photograph Collection Back to the Top RECORDS The tallest bridge in the world is the 650-foot (198 meter) Mala Rijeka Viaduct, in Yugoslavia. Completed in 1976 on the Yugoslav Railways Belgrade-Bar line. The Mala Rijeka viaduct is also the highest railway viaduct in the world. Click here to see Paul Steane's photography of this and other European train photos. The Guinness Railway Book (1989) can provide the answer to almost any question about world and national railroad record, but is apparently out of print. Check with your local library for copies. The tallest railroad bridge in the US is the 347-foot high Simpson Timber Co. Vance Creek Bridge in Washington state. Although the bridge is still intact, the tracks have been removed. The 321-foot Pecos River High Bridge is the tallest U.S. mainline bridge. The largest Train Station is the New York Grand Central Terminal. Back to the Top REPORTING MARKS Searchable Database AAR Reporting Marks by Railroad and Mark Railroad Reporting Marks Back to the Top RESOURCES for RAILROAD RESEARCH A list of Directories, Indexes, Search Engines and Forums NMRA's Kalmbach Memorial Library Model Railroad Magazine Index SlimRails Library Car Frequently Asked Questions Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society Webville & Hypertext Railroad Railserve National Model Railroad Association's Directory of World Wide Rail Sites RailsUSA TrainWeb Railsearch Railroad Data Kalmbach's "All Things Trains" Sheboygan Society of Scale Model Railroad Engineers FORUMS Railroad.Net Forums - A good index of useful and active forums Yahoo Groups, formerly eGroups has many railroad and model railroad related forums Narrow Gauge Railroad Discussion Forum ORGANIZATIONS and AGENCIES Federal Railroad Administration Association of American Railroads Back to the Top RULES, SIGNALS and SAFETY General Code of Operating Rules at the Alaska Railroad site Canadian Rail Operating Rules SIGNALS and SIGNALLING Signals Semaphores.com US Signals Signal Links Standard railroad hand signals Operation Lifesaver Back to the Top TRAIN SOUND EFFECTS Some railroad sound effects can be found at the following pages: railwaystation.com trainweb.org wavplace.com Back to the Top STATIONS Stations and Depots links Post Card Tour of Selected US Railroad Stations Railroad Station Historical Society Railroad Station Home Page History Central - RR Station Photos by State Railroad Stations of Route 66 Alabama Dale's Alabama Rail Pics Railfanning in Alabama Texas Massachusetts Ohio NEW HAMPSHIRE New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Ontario Chicago STRUCTURES ON THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD Back to the Top TIMETABLES Amtrak schedules CSX Timetables Norfolk Southern VIA Rail Canada MetroLink (Southern California) Back to the Top TRACK GAUGE There are many pages dedicated to this subject, although most seem to be quoting each other. Here are a few: www.sdrm.org/faqs/gauge/gauge1.html www.spikesys.com/Trains/st_gauge.html www.straightdope.com/columns/000218.html lists.essential.org/1998/am-info/msg01555.html www.sdrm.org/faqs/gauge/ Back to the Top TRAIN WHISTLES The Voice of the Iron Horse Plans Questions answered Discussion on Railserve forum Whistles For sale Manufacturers: Airchime Boothman and Johnson Back to the Top RAIL TRAVEL Amtrak USA by Rail Alaska Railroad American Orient Express Via Rail Canada Union Pacific excursions The North American Tourist Railroad & Railroad Museum List Back to the Top