Railroadiana or railwayana refers to artifacts of currently or formerly operating

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

around the world. Railroadiana can include items such as: * Brakeman's or marker lanterns * Date nails,

rail spike A rail fastening system is a means of fixing rails to railroad ties ( North America) or sleepers (British Isles, Australasia, and Africa). The terms ''rail anchors'', ''tie plates'', ''chairs'' and ''track fasteners'' are used to refer to part ...

s, or short sections of rail *

Dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that ...

linens Linens are fabric household goods intended for daily use, such as bedding, tablecloths, and towels. "Linens" may also refer to church linens, meaning the altar cloths used in church. History The earliest known household linens were made fr ...

holloware Holloware (hollowware, or hollow-ware ) is metal tableware such as sugar bowls, creamers, coffee pots, teapots, soup tureens, hot food covers, water jugs, platters, butter pat plates, and other items that accompany dishware on a table. It ...

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...

, or

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

* Locomotive

nameplate A nameplate identifies and displays a person or product's name. Nameplates are usually shaped as rectangles but are also seen in other shapes, sometimes taking on the shape of someone's written name. Nameplates primarily serve an informa ...

s or builder's plates * Promotional or advertising materials from railway passenger and freight service * Public or employee

timetables A schedule or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order in which such things are i ...

* Railroad hand tools such as wrenches, shovels, or brakeman's clubs *

Railroad switch A railroad switch (), turnout, or ''set ofpoints () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. The most common t ...

stands or keys *

Sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. The first such cars s ...

linens * Station signs and

railway signal A railway signal is a visual display device that conveys instructions or provides warning of instructions regarding the driver’s authority to proceed. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly. Typically, a signal mi ...

s * Trackside signs such as mile post markers,

whistle post In rail transport, a whistle post or whistle board, is a sign marking a location where a train driver is required to sound the horn or whistle. Australia In Australia, whistle posts consist of a pole or upright Flat Bottom Rail with a white ...

s, or flanger signs * Train dispatching forms and train orders *

Train horn In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often kn ...

s and

whistle A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a lar ...

s There are many more types of railroadiana available to the collector. Some railroadiana collectors include items in their collections as large as speeders or complete

passenger car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

s. The majority of pieces forming a collection can be legally obtained, often but not always at low cost, from either surplus or scrap sales from the railroad companies themselves, or through aftermarket railroadiana shows. Highly desirable items (rare or from popular lines) may sell for significant multiples of their original price.

See also