Kudos to the wikipedia.org page which does a much better job of text descriptions, yet doesn't link to relevant data relations in OSM (via BrowseRelation wiki entries), as many OSM wiki readers have become familiar with. You might choose the text-oriented wikipedia.org page now and that'd be good, however, if you need the OSM data we are building links into tables and that will take some time and effort into the future. So, see List of railroads in Georgia if text descriptions are "good enough for now." We could use something like that for OSM specific data, even if it is simply links in wikipedia.org pages like the one ref'd above.

Like highways, railroad tracks have been imported from TIGER data and they share the same problems like unconnected segments, wrong tagging, missing bridges and railroad crossings and positions that are frequently off quite a lot. So a review is necessary as it is for highways.

Introduction

This is a very early stub of Georgia/Railroads. Please bear with OSM as it completes. The main focus now should be on mainline, branch and freight/industrial rail of the Class I and Class II railways in Georgia. There is a significant amount of work required to improve these TIGER rail data already entered while documenting their route=railway relations (even if it means we need to create them) in this wiki as we improve them. The Class III railways can follow after Class I and Class II are complete (at least fully documented in this wiki, not necessarily fully TIGER reviewed).

Editing Railroads starting from TIGER data

Please read WikiProject_United_States_railways#Editing_Railroads_starting_from_TIGER_data. After/during TIGER Review, the segments of a railway line with identical or very similar tagging (especially name=* and usage=*) should be collected into a route=railway relation.

Active lines

Lines that see regular, active rail traffic for freight, industrial, military, etc. If the railways are active non-passenger rail, they go here. If the railways are not active, they are placed into the Disused or Abandoned sections below. Very much under construction; now only a skeleton of the structure and eventually full tables of relations we aspire to complete as we document our progress improving Georgia's railway=rail elements into route=railway relations and completing TIGER Review.

Military Rail

Railroads used by the military.

Disused lines

Lines that don't have regular traffic but with rail infrastructure in place. Tracks are tagged railway=disused.

Abandoned lines

Former railroad lines, whether still visible on the ground or not. A formal abandonment process with FRA has completed. Ways are tagged railway=abandoned or sometimes railway=razed if they have become completely built over in urban areas or are now, for example, farmland which has reverted to a more natural state with no evidence of tracks having been there. These should be historically determined or able to be so, but sometimes this is difficult because of lost history.

Railtrails

A railtrail uses a former railroad right-of-way for example bike or hiking paths, preserving the ROW for possible future re-use as a railway while providing a useful service in the meantime.

Yards