Railway maps and/or software

[rikdegraaff]

Hi All,

I'm very new in the "Trains"-hobby.
I live in Holland, and have some know how it works with the trains in Holland and Germany.
Also I love the Bullet (Japanese) trains.

Well now to my point:
I would like to do some research within the American "range" of trains.
Are there any free American "railway" maps?
So that I can do some research.

I hope you'll can help me with this.
Also I hope that I didn't violate any forum rule.

Greetings from Holland,

Rik

[Deggesty]

rikdegraaff

Thank you for your reply, Midlandmike.

I'm really new in the American Train scene.
So what does the FRA?
I hope to get some more info.
Is there any site for beginners in the American area, with some basic info about the American railways?

Many thanks,

Rik

You can try this: http://trc.trains.com/

and this: http://ctr.trains.com/

[MidlandMike]

The FRA is the primary US government agency concerned with railroads:

http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0001

The AAR ( Association of American Railroads) is the main RR freight industry group:

https://www.aar.org/aboutus/Pages/default.aspx#.U36v5PldWo8

Amtrak is the (government owned) intercity passenger railroad:

http://www.amtrak.com/home

[rikdegraaff]

Thank you for your reply, Midlandmike.

I'm really new in the American Train scene.
So what does the FRA?
I hope to get some more info.
Is there any site for beginners in the American area, with some basic info about the American railways?

Many thanks,

Rik

[MidlandMike]

Here is the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) map site:

http://fragis.fra.dot.gov/gisfrasafety/