Why towns formed
Water stops, junctions, division points, yards and repair shops required workers and services. Hotels, restaurants, stores and neighborhoods often developed around railroad employment.
Big-city terminals
Major passenger stations became gateways to cities and symbols of civic ambition. Freight terminals and industrial districts were equally important to urban economies even when they were less glamorous.
The wrong side of the tracks
Rail infrastructure could divide neighborhoods physically and socially. Tracks, yards and industrial corridors influenced land values, street patterns and patterns of development.
Boom and decline
Communities dependent on railroad employment could suffer when steam servicing ended, shops closed, passenger trains disappeared or mergers shifted operations elsewhere.
Railroad heritage
Restored depots, museums, excursion railroads and converted rail corridors now preserve pieces of this community history.
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