Updates

New Web Cam - Tulsa, OK by Oklahoma Railfan (relay of ODOT Camera)

Added a New Web Cam - Harrisburg, PA (Rockville Bridge) by Susquehanna River Basin Commission

I’ve added new configurations to handle web cameras like the one above where they lack timestamps. Since a few of these cameras don’t include timestamps, reporting from them can lead to inaccurate reporting. To prevent this, reporting is disabled for cameras like the one above but they still are viewable.

If a camera operator add a timestamp in the future, please reach out to me via the contact page... I’ll be happy to review and look at enabling reporting.

In addition, when a web camera is displayed on the map (web version only), you’ll now see a “New Report” button directly within the camera view. This should make submitting reports easier and more intuitive. Please note that, for security reasons, you’ll still need to pair a device before web cam reporting.

Brian =)

Hi Everyone

First, I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly three years since we released the train routing algorithm... a project that itself took two years of coding and initial configuration to bring to life and one that I’m still refining every day.

Routing is far more than a simple path calculation. To improve accuracy, the system layers together details such as:

• Subdivision configurations
• Milepost configurations (with a long-term goal of tenth-mile precision for each subdivision)
• Speed profiles
• Special routing rules unique to each railroad
• Waypoints and many other factors

Needless to say, routing is a complex beast that requires extensive research, since every railroad must be configured individually and each has its own unique characteristics.

All of these elements combine to generate the predicted routes. With over 18,600 train symbols in the system, achieving perfect accuracy across every route is the dream... but realistically, we strive to get as close as possible, knowing railroads are dynamic and can change daily.

You may occasionally notice a train route that doesn’t match what you see in the real world. This can happen because the algorithm calculates the fastest possible path, while in reality railroads may choose a slower route due to train type, directional running, or other operational factors. That’s perfectly normal... but if you spot something that looks off, we’d appreciate your help.

Please visit the train symbols database on the web or mobile app and submit the correct routing information. Your input will be queued for our moderation team to review, and we’ll do our best to adjust quickly.

A few additional notes...

• On the desktop version of the website you might notice a small "blue ripple" on the map that will appear for a few seconds over a marker...  this indicates that a new report has recently been added.
  
  
• For those of you who enjoy the geometry side of things: if you’ve ever seen a subdivision or route line that looks a bit “janky,” it’s because the system currently configures subdivisions down to the tenth of a mile. That level of precision doesn’t always capture the perfectly smooth rail curves. I’ve recently added an enhancement that attempts to smooth out those curves for a more natural look.
  
  
• Curious about track speeds? Below is a small behind‑the‑scenes look at the current Norfolk Southern speed map.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Best wishes!
Brian =)

Buffalo & Pittsburg

• BPRR4434 - America 250 Years
  
  

CPKC

• CP1101 - Hydrogen (Green/Blue/Gray)

Kyle Railroad

• KYLE4460 - America 250 Years
• KYLE4461 - Honoring Veterans & Service Members 

Metro North Commuter Railroad

• MNCR216 - Honoring All Who Served

Minnesota Commercial Railway

• MNNR76 - Celebrating 250 Years

Norfolk Southern

• NS1231 - NS OCS - Atlanta
• NS1230 - NS OCS - Birmingham
  
  

Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad

• RBMN1776 - Celebrating 250 Years of Independence

11/11/2025 4:30 EST - Maintenance Complete!

We’ll be performing server maintenance on Tuesday, November 11th from 4:00 AM to 6:00 AM EST. During this time, HeritageUnits.com and the mobile apps will be temporarily unavailable as we migrate to a brand new server to improve performance and reliability.
Brian =)

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

Hi Everyone,

Heads up, everyone... NS 1230 and 1231 OCS units are officially out today on NS 955.

We ran into a bug where the system was incorrectly flipping the direction from West to East after report submission. This was due to a lingering route profile that had NS 955 terminating in Altoona, causing the system to "correct" what it assumed was a mistaken direction.

I've cleared the outdated route profile for NS 955 and am currently preparing a server patch to resolve the underlying logic that triggered this behavior.

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

Alabama and Tennessee River Railway

• OMLX7204 - BN Paint (SD40)
• BUGX1497 - Illinois Central (SW14)

BNSF

• BNSF6553 - BNSF OCS Train (ES44C4) Temporary addition, will be removed. Note that we're reviewing how to handle these special train movements in future . 
• BNSF341 - BNSF H1 Paint (GP60B)

Buffalo & Pittsburgh

• BPRR4435 - Honoring Veterans & Service Members (C44-9W) 

Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad

• CFE4031 - Honoring Veterans & Service Members (C40-8W)
• CS04033 - America 250 Years (C40-8W) 

Columbia Basin Railway

• CBRW1747 - ATSF Bluebonnet (SD40-2) 

Connecticut Southern

• CS04039 - America 250 Years (B40-8W) 

Huron & Eastern Railway

• HESR3866 - Genesee & Wyoming (Whisker) (GP38-2)

Indiana & Ohio Railway

• IORY4436 - Honoring Veterans & Service Members (C44-9W)

Lake State Railway

• LSRC1776 - 250 Years of Freedom

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

• MBTX1130 - MBTA Heritage (GP40MC-3)
• MBTX1030 - Boston & Maine (F40PH-3C)

New Jersey Transit

• NJT1319 - Lackawanna Railroad (Arrow III MU)
• NJT4202 - Pennsylvania - Reading Seashore Lines (GP40PH-2B)

Norfolk Southern

• NS9747 - Last NS Thoroughbred (C44-9W)
• NS4947 - 1,000th DC to AC (AC44C6M)

Ohio Central Railroad

• OHCR2400 - Honoring Veterans & Service Members (SD60M)

Southwestern Railroad

• SW2414 - ATSF Bluebonnet (GP30u)

SunRail

• CFRC110 - SunRail Celebrates America's 250 (MP36PH-3S)

App Version - 4.43 Released

• Ability to view report's public profile, when viewing a report click on the blue reporters handle
• You can now filter and search through all your report history (more > profile > report history > "filter icon" top right to search).  

Removed - NS1000 - Vandalized - Red, White, Blue Stripes - Repainted

Removed - AMTK621 - Crayola (Blue) - Wrap removed

With the CSX Baltimore Tunnel and Blue Ridge Subdivision (post-Hurricane Helen) now open, we've updated CSX routing configurations accordingly. The system is currently reprocessing train routes and is expected to complete by later this afternoon.

If you notice any incorrect routes (starting tomorrow Saturday 9/27/25), please submit a train edit so we can address them promptly.

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

Removed - BNSF1474 - Great Pumpkin (Scraped)

Removed - AMTK620 - Crayola (Yellow) - Wrap removed 

Removed - NS6345 - Vandalized - Bigfoot Nose (Repainted)

We’re doing something a little different and temporarily adding the BNSF OCS train, led by locomotive BNSF 6553 which will be the reporting locomotive as it makes its way over CSX en route to New York. 

On CSX, the train is operating under symbol P976.

Please note that things may change as things develop. 

9/19/2025 5:00 AM EST

• BNSF OCS train departed Selkirk, NY last night at 11PM.
• Lead locomotives is CSXT486 (YN2) with CSXT478 (YN2) 
• New train symbol is CSX P977

9/17/2025 5:00 AM EST

• Updated the reporting locomotive from BNSF7995 to BNSF6553 (swapped out in Chicago)
• Will be on train CSX P976 (destination now updated to Selkirk)
• At Selkirk will flip to CSX P977 and lead locomotive will likely be swapped out (TBD)
  
  

Hi everyone,

As the number of train routes and railfan reports continues to grow, we anticipated the need for performance tuning to keep things running smoothly. Early this morning around 6AM EST, we rolled out a routing optimization update to help handle the increased load.

Unfortunately, a bug slipped into the release and caused some disruption with route processing. A fix has since been deployed, and all 18,000 train symbol routes are currently being reprocessed. We expect this to be fully resolved by midnight EST.

Please note that between 6AM and 2PM EST, several dependent features (including routing and notifications) were temporarily disabled while we worked through the issue.

Apologies for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience. We’re keeping a close on the system as everything stabilizes.

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

BNSF

• MRL401-406 - Montana Rail Link
• BNSF95280 - Snow Plow

CPKC

• CP1000, 1003, 1004, 1100 - Hydrogen (Green/Blue/Gray)

Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad

• DL2452 - Erie Lackawanna

Lake State Railway

• LSRC6437 - Spirit of Pere Marquette

IORY

• IORY4078 - Genesee & Wyoming (Whisker)

Great Plains Transportation Museum

• OKRX93 - ATSF Warbonnet (FP45)

RJ Corman

• RJC1560 - 50th Anniversary
• RJC1973 - 50th Anniversary
• RJC2023 - 50th Anniversary
• RJC2620 - 50th Anniversary

Steam Locomotive Heritage Association

• SOO1003 - Steam

Per AltoonaWorks.info, NS1072 (Illinois Terminal) just got a fresh paint job and is hanging out outside the shop.

Fingers crossed it hits the rails again in the next few days.

We’ve standardized all Metra train symbols in the system to include a suffix that reflects their respective line codes. This update helps distinguish trains with overlapping numbers across different lines

New Format:

• METX {number}-{line code}

Line Codes:

• BNSF = BNSF (to Aurora)
• HC = Heritage Corridor (to Joliet)
• ME = Metra Electric (to University Park)
• MDN = Milwaukee District North (to Fox Lake)
• MDW = Milwaukee District (to Elgin)
• NCS = North Central Service (to Antioch)
• RI = Rock Island (to Joliet)
• SWS = Southwest Service (to Manhattan)
• UPN = Union Pacific North (to Kenosha)
• UPNW = Union Pacific Northwest (to Harvard)
• UPW = Union Pacific West (to Elburn)

Note: Some Metra line codes contain dashes (e.g., UP-N, UP-NW, UP-W). Since we’re already using a dash in the new format, the system will start to strip dashes from line codes to maintain readability.

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

I've been monitoring how reports are submitted and noticed a delay when saving new entries, often taking between 15 and 30 seconds. 

As of 10:15 AM EST today; I applied a patch to the server that should bring this down to just a few seconds. 

Keep in mind that during peak activity, things may still slow slightly, but the improvement should be noticeable when submitting new reports.   I'll be keeping a close eye on additional performance tweaks.

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

App release 4.42 should come available within the app stores today or tomorrow.

• Fix two small Apple/iOS app crash issues (iOS 18 w/ maps and iOS 15 devices)
• Fix web cam searching

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

Metra 402 has returned to service and now is reportable again (video)

Illinois Railway Museum

• IMRX231 - F40PHR - Amtrak Operation Lifesaver
• IMRX6976 - SP40F - Maersk Sealand

Ohio Central

• OC2280 - SD60M - Honoring Veterans & Service Members

BNSF

• BNSF344 - GP60B - BNSF H1 Paint
• BNSF345 - GP60B - BNSF H1 Paint

Norfolk Southern

• NS5260 - GP38-2 - Belt Line 

CPKC

• CP403012 - MoW Equipment - MoW Yellow Power Unit

Metra

• METX147 - F40PH-2 - Operation Lifesaver

Hi Everyone,

We experienced a primary Internet Service Provider (ISP) outage on our hosting platform around 3:50 PM EST today. As of 4:40 PM EST, we’ve initiated a failover to our secondary ISP, and services should begin coming back online shortly.

We'll be keeping an eye on things as everything restores.

Thanks for your patience!

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

Coming in Version 4.39

• You'll soon be able to view all train symbols by subdivision for any route that’s been configured.  Within the mobile app, this will be located under "More" > "Subdivisions" > View subdivision > Button "View Train Symbols on Subdivision"
  
  
• Expected to start rolling out over the upcoming holiday weekend (pending no delays).
  
  

Key Details

• Some trains only occupy a subdivision for a few miles, while others run across the entire subdivision.  We'll indicate the milepost range the train is on the subdivision.  You will also be able to filter by mileposts to see exactly what trains route at the specific location.
  
  
• This view will also include trains from other railroads (provided the route is configured) even when operating over foreign trackage.
  
  
• Each result will display the direction of travel on the subdivision (based on the railroad's timetable rules).
  
  
• If you notice a route that’s incorrectly configured, please go to the train record and submit an edit, detailing the correct routing.
  
  
• For broader routing issues affecting multiple trains (often due to directional running), contact me directly.  I have functionality to apply route corrections system-wide.

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

Added DL4068 - Delaware & Hudson (Alco RS3)

Web Camera  Updates

Added

• Tracy, NB by TrainVideos
• Melbourne, FL by RailStream.net
• Onawa, IA by Steel-Highway.com
• Woodside, NY by Woodside Train Camera
• Glidden, IA by Trains On Demand

Removed

•  Landgraff, WV by RailStream.net

Did you know...

Our server automatically monitors YouTube streams each night and updates their links as needed. Typically, rebooting a webcam results in a new YouTube video link.

Direct links to individual cameras are accessible through the mobile app or the online webcam database. I’m also updating the website’s camera direct links on the location maps very soon (currently just links to the operators website). 

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com 

Wheeling & Lake Erie

• WE1776 - Celebrating 250 Years of Independence

Norfolk Southern

• NS6345 - Vandalized - Bigfoot Nose
• NS5120 - High Hood

BNSF

• Numerous BNSF H1 (SD40-2, GP Units)
• MRL SD40-2

Indiana & Ohio

• IORY4091 - Genesee & Wyoming (Whisker)

CPKC

• CP7470 - Strathcona's (CPKC Paint)

Portland & Western

• PNWR - (2306, 2308, 2311, 2312) - ATSF Bluebonnet

Added - IORY4091 (Genesee & Wyoming (Whisker))

Added CPKC7470 - Strathcona's (CPKC Paint)

Added - CN - Iowa Northern Units 

>> SPECIAL NOTE FOR HIDING LOCOMOTIVES <<

I understand that not every locomotive group in the app may be of interest to you. If you'd like to hide a specific locomotive or an entire group, follow the steps below:

1. Open the app and navigate to More > Settings 
2. Scroll to Hide Locomotives
3. Select Specific Locomotives or Locomotive Groups to add or remove as needed.

Please ensure you're running version 4.33 or higher, as locomotive groups have replaced the now-deprecated locomotive categories. 

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

Added - MNCR203 - (MTA Central) - Released yesterday

App Version 4.35 is now rolling out to the app stores.

• The Inbound Trains screen has been refreshed for a more friendly experience.
  
  
• ETA context has been added to the screen.  If an ETA extends a couple of days out, you may see "Rough Estimate" displayed for better clarity.
  
  
• As railfans submit updates on locomotive movements, ETA calculations will be refreshed to better assist those further down the line.

If the update isn’t visible yet, check the store again within 24-48 hrs.

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

Added BNSF H1 locomotives.  We know this is not a definitive list so if you spot a BNSF H1 not in the system, please provide video or photo evidence via the contact page and we'll look to add it.

>> SPECIAL NOTE FOR HIDING LOCOMOTIVES <<

I understand that not every locomotive group in the app may be of interest to you. If you'd like to hide a specific locomotive or an entire group, follow the steps below:

1. Open the app and navigate to More > Settings 
2. Scroll to Hide Locomotives
3. Select Specific Locomotives or Locomotive Groups to add or remove as needed.

Please ensure you're running version 4.33 or higher, as locomotive groups have replaced the now-deprecated locomotive categories. 

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

Added CO614 - Steam - On it's journey from Clifton Forge, VA to Pennsylvania

Added - NS1080 (Delaware & Hudson) - SD70ACe

Apologies for the delay! I was volunteering with our local Salvage Army, and when I finally checked my phone, I was met with a flood of notifications about the new locomotive. Many thanks to everyone who reached out about the new Heritage Unit!

*** SPECIAL NOTE WITH HIDING LOCOMOTIVES ***

I understand that not every locomotive group in the app may be of interest to you. If you'd like to hide a specific locomotive or an entire group, follow the steps below:

1. Open the app and navigate to More > Settings 
2. Scroll to Hide Locomotives
3. Select Specific Locomotives or Locomotive Groups to add or remove as needed.

Please ensure you're running version 4.33 or higher, as locomotive groups have replaced the now-deprecated locomotive categories. 

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

CSX YN2 locomotives have been added in response to the overwhelming demand we've received over the past few months and as their numbers continue to decline.

SPECIAL NOTE

I understand that not every locomotive group in the app may be of interest to you. If you'd like to hide a specific locomotive or an entire group, follow the steps below:

1. Open the app and navigate to More > Settings 
2. Scroll to Hide Locomotives
3. Select Specific Locomotives or Locomotive Groups to add or remove as needed.

Please ensure you're running version 4.33 or higher, as locomotive groups have replaced the now-deprecated locomotive categories. 

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

Added - VIA2218 / VIA2317 (Lumi)

Added - RNCX1893 - 30th Anniversary (Piedmont Service)

Unfortunately, a small bug managed to sneak in and affected around 30 reports over the past 2 days, causing them not to display. Most of these were Amtrak/Metra locomotives, though a few others were impacted as well.

The issue has been resolved as of 5:15 PM EST, so everything should be back to normal!

Apologies to those affected!  I do my best to avoid mishaps, but every now and then, the universe likes to remind me that I'm only human! =P

Brian =)
HeritageUnits.com

Removed - CN3309 - CN Wafer Logo (logo removed)

Added - NS992800MW / NS992801MW - MofW Orange Power Unit

Added - CFNR2403 - Genesee & Wyoming (Whisker)

Removed - CN 3226 - 100th Anniversary - Logo removed

Due to the number of requests to track certain vandalized NS units, I've added them to the site for reporting until they are repainted.   

NS1000 - Vandalized - Red, White, Blue Stripes
NS4364 - Vandalized - Pink Stipes

We do not condone or support the vandalism of locomotives in any form.  Tracking and reporting of these units are intended for informational and historical purposes only.

There was a temporary photo upload issue that occurred the morning of 5/8/2025.  This should now be resolved

Georgia Central - GS533 (B32-8) - Honoring Our Veterans and Troops

Amtrak - AMTK620 (ACS-64) - Crayola (Yellow)

Amtrak - AMTK621 (ACS-64) - Crayola (Blue)

Added UP1616 - Abraham Lincoln (SD70M) to the system for tracking.  Reporting is temporarily suspended until it enters road service following today’s unveiling.

Removed - BNSF 645 - ATSF Warbonnet - Sold to Comstock Mountain Lion Railroad (repainted all maroon color)

Added - CSXTGMS-1 - Geometry Unit

Added - CSXTGMS-2 - Geometry Unit

Removed - BNSF 9768 - Executive/Grinstein Paint - Scrapped

Removed - CSXT 4500 - Spirit of Cumberland - Scrapped

Removed - UP 9771 - CNW Paint - Rebuilt/Repainted (photo link)

I've made updates to the routing configuration for CSX within the system where the NS Harrisburg line can now be utilized (NS trackage right agreement while CSX Baltimore Tunnel is being worked on).  All CSX trains within the system will start reprocessing their routes shortly.   

Please note that the system will calculate the fastest route between origin/destination and thus any trains without waypoints configured make take the new NS trackage rights.  If you run into a train symbol that you know doesn't take this route, please submit a train edit on it and let us know the correct route and we'll make the changes needed. 

Brian =)

Hi Everyone,

Apologies for the lack of updates recently; I’ve been out of commission for a bit but am feeling much better and back on track.

I’m currently focused on a new version of the app to address a quirky iOS bug where a train route line takes an unexpected detour straight to the North Pole. This issue is specific to iOS, and I’m hoping to have it resolved in the coming weeks.

And if all goes well, I might even sneak in a couple of extra features with this release—stay tuned!

Brian =)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holidays!

I’m currently refining the maps (currently only the browser version) to display a dotted line indicating the predicted future path, along with the origin and destination stations. 

Once it's polished, I plan to implement the same feature in the mobile apps.

Brian =)

Removed - BNSF 1506 - BN Paint (Sold to LTEX)
Removed - BNSF 549 - ATSF Warbonnet (Sold to LTEX)

On Monday, the system encountered issues that caused it to become unresponsive. This was related to a recent patch applied over the weekend. The issue should now be resolved, but I will be monitoring it closely over the next few days. Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Brian =)

The web camera database is now accessible on the website (previously available only through the mobile app). This includes all camera locations submitted by the Heritage Units community, along with individual links for each camera at the location.

The server will regularly monitor the health of each camera's URL and will attempt automatic updates, particularly for YouTube live feeds, as reboots can disrupt previous links. If a link is dead please contact us to let us know so we can review it for possibly updates/removal. 

We encourage eveyone to support the camera operators—setting up and maintaining these locations requires significant effort and expense.

Best wishes!
Brian =)