railroads

This is part of an alt history between me and some other people. It mostly focuses on fictional railroads and my part of it is Conrail, which is still operating into the present. In this thread I will mainly be posting equipment, lore, and hopefully maps eventually. I will also answer questions...

What would it take to have steam locomotives still being produced by multiple developed nations until at least the end of the 1970s? Not just temporarily built due to the oil crisis but in continuous production through the 1960s and 1970s.

The Great Central was the last mainline railway in England to be built, opening in 1899. It was never a huge success, and was basically done away with in the Beeching cuts. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Central_Railway A lot of effort and money was spent on building it. Surely that...

In my TL, the Confederacy gets its independence after the 1864 election, electing a peace candidate, due to war weariness. In the peace negotiations, the Confederacy gets the Arizona Territory and Kentucky (due to them seceding in my TL) The Confederate government repeals it's anti internal...

To give a great oversimplification, after the Civil War or between 1870s to 1890s, the United States entered an industrial era, where new railways expanded across the nation, creating a new and more connected network across teh nation With a POD I've been using for most of my CSA Victory asks...

The Railroad and What it Stands for in America Steve Glischinski for Trains Magazine: March 2019 In anticipation of the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific duly celebrating the Golden Spike Centennial, it's only fair that we look at the progress and changes American Railroads enjoyed. The...

Hello everyone! This is an idea that I've had for a long time now. In the 1970s, there was a plan devolved by ICC lawyer Nathan Klitenic to use the UP-RI merger to reshape the western railroad map into four mega systems. Burlington Northern, Union Pacific, Santa Fe, and Southern Pacific. Most...

As well all know, the D&RGW considered abandoning its iconic narrow gauge in the 1930s. However, wartime bough it a new lease of life. Then soon after the natural gas boom in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado led to the line's upgrading, and its potential as a tourist railroad being...

I know that until the late 50s, the two railroads were rather close to each other. To the point I wonder why the former never bought the latter. What would have happened if this were the case? Would the PRR be able to escape Penn Central and bankruptcy? What would happen?

Link for those wondering what I'm talking about: (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_gauge). Considering how dual gauge railways can join lines of different gauges, could this be used to create a more unified American rail network in the pre-Civil War period and the years following it? In a...

Welcome to All Aboard America! This is a timeline created by myself. Though contributions from many other users may be accepted. This is an old version of my initial TL. But I chose to change a bit of the history. So here we go. After World War 1, Congress had returned the railroads back to the...

Welcome to All Aboard America! This is a timeline created by myself. Though contributions from many other users may be accepted. - "I honestly never thought it would pass at all. Since the railroads were used to private ownsership, I thought the only thing they would accept would be the idea...

The Background During the early 1970's, railroading in the northeast was in crisis. Penn Central, a product of a 1968 merger between the New York Central, Pennsylvania, and New Haven railroads, had declared what was at the time, the largest bankruptcy in American history on June 21st, 1970...

In 1920, Congress passed the Esch-Cummins Act. This Act (officially called the Transportation Act of 1920) not only returned the railroads back to the private sector from USRA control during WWI, but it also instructed the Interstate Commerce Commission to create a plan to consolidate the...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh,_Cincinnati,_Chicago_and_St._Louis_Railroad In 1921, the Pennsylvania leased the medium-sized Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (often referred to as the Pan Handle Route). It seems this was the end of the line's independence...

I was thinking, as I lay there in an alternate reality of sleep, about this What if the devastation of the Blitz to central London is so severe that it is decided during post-war Reconstruction to drive the mail rail lines through London? Marylebone could link to Victoria Euston to Charing...

There exists an interesting duality in South Dakota's rail system. While most states are dominated by two or more Class I railroads, South Dakota was largely bypassed by them, and today has an interesting duality between two class IIs. The first is the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern, which...

In the mid 1980's the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, Attempted to merge, Even uniting under a holding company The Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corporation. A paint scheme was even adopted the "Kodachrome" scheme. Unfortunately the justice...