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. An Overpass Turbo link might prove useful, try this for passenger train routes. So, see List of New York railroads 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.

New York Railroads in OSM are in very good shape. The only place where they might need work is in the railroad yards in Buffalo, which are in constant flux, and in New York City where there are disused underground railways which cannot be visited (legally or easily or safely) yet which exist and some have tracks, and some are even used for special purposes (e.g. the City Hall station in the city).

Introduction

This is a VERY early seed of New York/Railroads, please bear with OSM as it completes. It will be quite some work to properly complete this, as New York has a rich rail history and this wiki barely scratches the surface of fully documenting both "what is" (in the real world) and "what is in OSM." By way of comparison, please see California/Railroads for a substantially-complete statewide railroad wiki (now in a "later beta" stage of completion), whereas this (New York/Railroads) wiki can be characterized as "pre-alpha." Even long journeys begin with the early steps!

Active lines

Lines that see regular rail traffic whether freight, passenger, industrial, tourism, whatever. If they are active, they go here. If they are not, they are placed into the Disused or Abandoned sections below.

Passenger trains

Tracks and stations used for passenger train routes are correctly collected into route=train relations. This is a very rich topic in the state of New York, as rail is a frequent, common transportation mode, especially in denser urban areas.

Disused lines

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

This is an early, stubby table only just getting started. It needs much more population as there is a vast rail history in New York. Very much under construction and only in its infancy here.

Here is an Overpass Turbo (OT) query which can be helpful.

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.

This is an early, stubby table only just getting started. It needs much more population as there is a vast rail history in New York. Very much under construction and only in its infancy here.

Here is an Overpass Turbo (OT) query which can be helpful.

Railtrails

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

To Do

Full list of active railways, whether they are in route relations or not. Assess their TIGER review status. Pressure will rise to stub passenger routes, abandoned and disused will emerge, as will tourism/heritage.