Just
Railroads
History...Explanations...etc.
What started out innocently a
few years ago as the start of a collection of Railroad Logos or Heralds as the
case may be has grown to something else. The Logos had to be cataloged and
then the Railroads had to be cataloged in order to keep track. Then the
interest grew to creating a "Definitive" historical listing that no
one else had really done. The need to confine this listing to the
North American Continent becomes obvious by the quantity of listings; now well
over 14,000 from day one to now. Taking advantage of the World Wide
Web as the source for all this material has been an adventure and learning
experience throughout. The shear quantity of links, over 31,000, provides
the viewer with almost a never-ending source of information. As links are
constantly changing the quantity assures at least something always being
available for the viewer. And to this day, Just Railroads, goes through a
constant checking and updating and will continue to grow.
NAMES: The entire listing is alphabetized, sequentially, hopefully. I always have to insert a little humor now and then. One would think that the most important part of any entity would be the NAME. This has proven to be an adventure in itself establishing what a particular Railroad's name really was and show it in its original form. Therefore, the use of words like "Railroad" "Rail Road" "RR" "Railway" "Ry" "Rwy" "and" "&" "Company" "Co." "Incorporated" "Inc." "The", etc. or even the lack thereof is used as best determined by the author from the myriad information available on the WWW. The one criterion that would hold precedence over other materials would be a "Legal" NAME. And even that would get lost in the shuffle sometimes. A "better" explanation provided by another Railfan is when railroads were incorporated/chartered or whatever they took on a name usually with some indication of area served, cities they connected, etc.. These railroads were, to say the least, very speculative and the first really stock/bond investments. As they began construction/operations they would run into money problems, either real or manipulations by the entrepreneur. Usually ending in bankruptcy/insolvency. As they reorganized they needed to change the legal identity of the reorganized company without loosing identity. They started, usually, as Railways and reorganized as Railway Companies, then on to Railroads, Railroad Companies, and Companies. In some instances taking on nicknames such as the "Soo Line".
The use of "d/b/a"
means "doing business as". "A/K/A" means
"Also Known As".
NEXT: The use of
(Parenthesis) after the initial listing is "supposed" to show the
sequential lineage of that particular listing. This is followed by
the original listings "Call Letters" in (Parenthesis) where known or
given.
Dates: More fun again.
The first date given is when it is first mentioned somewhere, if at all, and has
no relation as to when that listing actually began. Unless a second date
is given which is when it "supposedly" ceased to exist as an entity.
More fun. Now if a "/" appears that means it has started up
again as another entity with the same NAME, maybe. An example is a
Railroad changed to a Railway and then back to a Railroad all with the same
NAME. Again, "Legal" papers would take precedence.
Reporting Marks are given next
and have no relation to a Railroad's call letters. It was the listing of
Reporting Marks which brought out more listings of a commercial nature as
compared to a pure Railroad but are still valid by virtue of there being
ownership or operation of Rail equipment, or rail.
States are listed in which the listing operates and/or is registered as owned.
Links are self-explanatory.
Suffice to say that as many as is practical are given to afford the viewer more
choice as possible with the ever-changing linkages.
Logos or Heralds are all alphabetically listed on separate pages.
The author does not
authenticate anything shown on the site and has added little
"humoristic" notes here and there. The information is only as
accurate as many well-intentioned people meant it to be and nothing more.
There is an attempt to stay away from just pure "Railroad Clubs" and
"Commercial Railroad Hobbies" per se with exceptions of course.
Others handle those areas quite well. The hundreds of E-Mails received
over time have also been greatly appreciated by their support and updates, so
keep them coming and....
Happy
Railroadin'
Carter
S. Pawlus