OpenRailwayMap/Tagging in North America/Route Importance Examples

Definitive OpenRailwayMap (ORM) tagging conventions are found at OpenRailwayMap/Tagging. Regional tagging conventions for North America are at OpenRailwayMap/Tagging in North America. This page of examples is intended to be viewed alongside the section Route Importance, to help map editors work out the correct usage=* values. In each section, examples of a "typical" case of this tag are provided first, followed by examples of "edge" cases that are more challenging to determine. Deciding factors used to determine the appropriate tag are given at the end of each example.

Main Routes

usage=main

CSXT James River Subdivision (through, Class I)

Simple map of the James River Sub. This is a clear, simple example of a usage=main route.

This subdivision, a through route, is part of the main CSXT ex-C&O route from Newport News, VA to Cincinnati and Chicago. Through traffic per day is anywhere from 4-12 coal trains in each direction, with one manifest freight in each direction. The manifest freights would stop at Lynchburg to drop off cuts for all local customers. There were two local crew shifts per day; the morning crew would put together a westbound local from the yard, and run out and back to serve all industries between Lynchburg and Natural Bridge. The evening shift then took over the locomotive, and assembled and operated an eastbound local to Gladstone and back. On-line customers west of Natural Bridge were served by a local from Clifton Forge at the west end of the Subdivision. Hence, local customers, but they were clearly secondary to the through traffic.

Deciding factors: the route connects multiple localities, and the predominant traffic is long distance, through traffic.

CSXT Peninsula Subdivision (dead-end, Class I)

Simple map of the Peninsula Sub. This is a clear, simple example of a dead-end usage=main route.

This subdivision, a dead end route, is the eastern terminus of the main CSXT ex-C&O route from Newport News, VA to Cincinnati and Chicago. While there are online customers for the entire length of the line, the majority of traffic on this line is generated at the eastern terminus in Newport News and Hampton. This line serves, among other things, the second biggest coal terminal in Hampton Roads (28.8 million tons of coal in 2013), a small intermodal terminal, an Army base with its own usage=military railroad, a (recently closed) coal fired power plant, a general merchandise terminal where vehicles are imported on RORO ships, and many smaller customers. The line also sees unit trains of stone delivered to resellers for local truck delivery.

Deciding factors: the line connects multiple localities, and carries a high proportion of long distance traffic in large blocks (non-stop); hence, most traffic on the line is through traffic, even though it is from or destined for end points at the dead-end of the line.

Florida East Coast Railway Main Line (dead-end, Class II Regional)

Railroad description and simple system map for Florida East Coast. This is a good illustration of an edge case, which some could reasonably argue might approach branch status, but still has sufficient main route characteristics to better fit a main tag.

Florida East Coast's main line runs the length of Florida, generating substantial long distance port intermodal traffic, as well as unit trains of stone, most of which is bound for interchange. It also carries traffic generated by FEC's several branch lines, and multiple industrial lines. FEC's mainline is a good candidate for usage=main), and a good illustration of a non-Class I main route.

Deciding factors: the line connects multiple localities, and carries a high proportion of long distance traffic in large blocks (non-stop); hence, most traffic on the line is through traffic, even though it is from or destined for end points at the dead-end of the line.

(To-Do: Add another edge example for the RCPE (former DME))

Branch Routes

usage=branch

Buckingham Branch Railroad, Buckingham Division (dead-end, Class III)

A simple map and some reference material on the Buckingham Division. This is a clear, simple example of a usage=branch route.

This runs south from a usage=main interchange with CSXT at Bremo, to the town of Dillwyn, 17 miles away. Along the way, it serves a variety of primarily forestry, agricultural, and mining customers. It carries no through traffic.

Deciding factors: this route connects multiple localities (though small), and all traffic is local trains serving multiple on-line customers.

Buckingham Branch Railroad, Richmond & Alleghany Division (through, Class III)

An operator description, a description of the division by the operator, and an independent description of the route are all easy to find online, and help clarify the nature of the route. Outside reference is necessary, as this route is a good example of an edge case where simply viewing it on a map doesn't present enough data to make it clear this is a branch. This route has a comparably high level of through traffic for a branch, but is still a better fit for the branch tag than the main tag.

This route is owned by CSXT but leased and operated by Buckingham Branch Railroad since 2004, and was the original C&O mainline between Richmond and Clifton Forge, VA from 1836 to 1889. It was replaced as a mainline by the James River and the Rivanna Subdivisions (discussed above), a route which is more direct and has better grades. Primary traffic here is locally generated, and is interchanged with usage=main routes at Doswell (CSXT), Clifton Forge (CSXT), Charlottesville (NS), and Waynesboro (NS).

However, with limited exceptions, through traffic on this route is minimal. CSXT used this line as a parallel route when their primary route was overloaded, and still maintains trackage rights to enable this use; however, this through use is secondary, and is presently much less common than 20 years ago. Amtrak also uses a portion of this route for one of its Washington-Chicago trains, three days per week.

All evidence considered, this is a good example of a through usage=branch route, both under former CSXT and current BB operation, with good examples of how some of the various exceptions and clarifications may apply.

Deciding factors: this route connects multiple localities, and the predominant traffic is local trains serving many, small on-line customers en route. Through traffic is a less common exception.

Buckingham Branch Railroad, Norfolk Division (dead-end, Class III)

This route runs northeast from a point near the intersection of East Princess Anne Road and Ballentine Boulevard in Norfolk, VA to Little Creek inlet in Virginia Beach, VA, and is visible here, passing just east of Norfolk International Airport.

This line is one of the last remaining scraps of an old through route, and illustrates a good edge case between branch and industrial lines. The operator's page on the Division is probably the easiest information to find, but is a bit scant compared to their information on their other divisions, as this route is their smallest and newest (two years at this writing). The route connects two localities, but barely - as the roughly 40% of the route that's in Virginia Beach parallels the city line, and is never more than 500 feet at most into Virginia Beach. It does have several spurs to individual customers scattered along its length, as well as a decent length industrial side route of its own to an industrial park several blocks into the city. In addition, though it only technically connects two localities, the unusually spread out nature of the two cities connected means this route is still a full five miles long.

Deciding factors: this route connects multiple localities (though it barely reaches into one), and all traffic is local trains serving multiple small on-line customers.

Industrial Routes

usage=industrial

Lapeer Industrial Railroad (dead-end, Class III)

Lapeer Industrial Railroad has a simple system map on their company home page for the line. This is a clear, simple example of a usage=industrial route.

Lapeer owns just under 1.5 miles of track, which it operates with a single locomotive and two person crew to serve several industries spaced out on one industrial line. Several customers have "spots" (points where cars are set out to load or unload) directly on the usage=industrial track itself, and a few have small spurs off the main track. LIRR leases just under a mile of trackage rights on the Canadian National mainline (usage=main) to reach the CN yard and interchange with the outside world. LIRR's primary route should be marked usage=industrial, and assuming you had the information regarding the trackage rights, the portion of the CN mainline to their yard should be marked with operator=Canadian National Railway; Lapeer Industrial Railroad as well as owner=Canadian National Railway to reflect the trackage rights.

Deciding factors: this route serves multiple customers at an industrial complex within a single locality, with no through traffic. It has a clearly discerned route from the CN main line to the collection of car spots and spurs in the industrial park.

CSXT Cabin Creek Subdivision (dead-end, Class I)

This 12-mile route branches off the Kanawha Subdivision (usage=main route) at Cabin Creek, WV, and travels south through Eskdale to Leewood, as seen here. This is a good edge case, in that this route could be tagged as branch, but is most appropriately tagged industrial.

This like was originally a substantial branch line serving dozens of small mines and two branches near its upper terminus. However, by the 1980's, all on-line customers had closed, and the line was completely disused until the mid-1990's, with the owner considering filing for abandonment. In 1994-1995, the lower portion of the line to Leewood was completely rehabilitated to serve the loader of the Samples Mine, a single, new, massive mountaintop removal strip mine. Typical traffic is two unit trains per day, each of which is brought up the line, loaded, and brought back out.

Deciding factors: this route connects multiple localities, but only serves a single, large customer. This is a clear example of the "multiple localities, single customer" exception given in the list of required usage=industrial characteristics.

Buckingham Branch Railroad, Norfolk Division, Diamond Springs Lead (dead-end, Class III)

This route branches off the Norfolk Division at Burton to serve a small industrial park just under a mile off the main route at Baker Road and Diamond Springs. It is visible in its entirety here. This is a good edge case, as this route barely scrapes up enough significance to be usage=industrial instead of just service=spur.

Deciding factors: this route serves multiple customers at an industrial complex within a single locality, with no through traffic. It has a clearly discerned route from the branch line to the collection of spurs in the industrial park.

Military Routes

usage=military

Fort Eustis Military Railroad (dead-end, Military Owned and Operated)

Fort Eustis Military Railroad is a clear, simple example of a usage=miltary route.

The entire post railroad is thoroughly described, including slightly dated overall maps and very good, detailed track descriptions, in this CSXT Historical Society article, with excellent information to thoroughly document the entire line. The CSXTHS Journal itself is a copyrighted work, but all of the maps and track diagrams on PDF pages 7-10 are reproductions of US Government created original documents, which are all automatically in the public domain. In the US, reproducing a public domain work within a copyrighted work does not convey a copyright onto the original work, so these track diagrams are fully compatible with OSM licensing. However, per User:Nathhad's personal knowledge of the site, be aware that the subdivision names in the Journal are not current, and a better long term source needs to be found.

At present, the railroad within the post boundary is owned by the US Government and operated by a mix of military and contractor personnel. CSXT owns and operates the branch from Lee Hall to just inside the main gate, where they interchange with the post railroad at a siding. All movement within the post is ordinarily operated by military personnel or contractors; however, CSXT has effective trackage rights within the base to directly deliver loads with necessary (a fact that is not recorded in the DOT or FRA GIS references we use for many items in ORM tagging).

Deciding factors: route is contained within and owned by a military installation, and operated by a mix of military and contractor personnel.

Fort Lee, VA (dead-end, Military Owned, Class I Operated)

Fort Lee's very brief military railroad may be seen here. This is an edge case that could almost be classified as usage=industrial or even service=spur.

The post owns and maintains their own track, but does not operate it themselves as a "military railroad" like nearby Ft. Eustis. Instead, all operation is performed by Norfolk Southern, which serves the Ft. Lee line from their City Point Branch to the north.

Deciding factors: route is contained within and owned by a military installation, but operated via trackage rights by the railroad connecting to and serving the installation, in accordance with the exception in the table.

(To Do: find an example of track on base that is not owned by the base.)

Tourist Routes and Preserved Railways

usage=tourism

Strasburg Rail Road

Strasburg Rail Road is a heritage railway in Pennsylvania, and is a very clear-cut example of a usage=tourism route. The line operates limited local freight service to on-line customers, but its predominant traffic by far is tourist trains using preserved equipment.

Deciding factors: predominant traffic is tourism aboard heritage trains. The route still acts as a freight common carrier, but freight traffic represents a minority of both the traffic and the revenue.