The Railroad

The Railroad is a faction in the Commonwealth with the primary aim of freeing synths from their creators at the Institute.

Background
Following the public's discovery of the existence of synths during the Diamond City Broken Mask incident, paranoia and fear of Institute synths spread. The public began blaming them for the disappearances of loved ones, and a deep hatred of synths emerged. Those who founded the Railroad felt the opposite, and sympathized with the synths, becoming their "only friends."

The first mentions of the Railroad include a group led by Agamemnon which was destroyed in November 2266 by an Institute raid on their headquarters. Wyatt took responsibility for rebuilding the organization, after many of the members left following the HQ massacre. A runner named John D. was the last remaining member apart from Wyatt. In order to keep the Railroad alive, Wyatt chose to keep the site for the new headquarters hidden upon its discovery. Learning from the mistakes of his predecessor, he had figured out that once the Institute had attacked a safehouse, it would've been easy for them to track down the HQ, as so many people knew about it.

Under Wyatt's leadership, the group managed to get its first synth out of the Commonwealth in 2267. John D. did not reveal the names of the new tourists he had found to help, while Wyatt introduced multiple reforms to the Railroad's infrastructure, such as establishing their hierarchy A dead drop system was established to create a secure method of communication between agents, safehouses and HQ.

Pinky Thompson succeeded Wyatt's role as the leader in December 2273, the latter having died after the old headquarters was uncovered and sacked by Institute coursers. With the aid of Deacon, most of the survivors were able to make it out alive. After setting up shop at a new location, Pinky passed a new decree to tighten security at HQ, only giving heavies clearance to leave and ensuring that the organization moves to relay all packages out of the region as quick as possible. He also recommended that all fugitive synths remain in custody of the Railroad until they are beyond the borders of the Commonwealth, following the assault on a homestead near Parsons State Insane Asylum by coursers, which resulted in the loss of a synth codenamed Lambda 8 and her spouse.

Capital Wasteland
When he received intel that a courser and a few other Institute operatives were on a mission taking them beyond the Commonwealth, Pinky assigned one of his agents, Victoria Watts, to shadow them on their trek south. She later settled down in the Capital Wasteland and rented an apartment in Rivet City to lie low while protecting the identity of a runaway, Harkness, aka A3-21. Having risen up the ranks of the local security force to become their commander, Harkness was at greater risk of being tracked down and reclaimed by the Synth Retention Bureau. The arrival of the bureau's head, Dr. Zimmer, and his synth escort Armitage, made the possibility of this threat more likely. It was then imperative that agent Watts was to remain in the area to serve as a bodyguard for Harkness.

In September 2276, another safehouse, Trinity, was lost. He later resigned from office and was succeeded by Desdemona, who won against Dr. Carrington in the election.

The Switchboard and P.A.M.
Immediately after Desdemona took the leadership role, she focused on operational security, lookouts, compartmentalization, and counterintelligence, analyzing and making improvements where Pinky went wrong. In 2279, Thomas Weatherby joined HQ. Adopting the moniker "Tinker Tom," Weatherby designed new weapons and other useful technologies for the Railroad as part of a complete rearmament program. Desdemona and her aides also made improvements to the dead drop network and introduced the railsign system to allow agents to covertly mark cache, safehouse, and dead drop locations, as well as the presence of allies and potential dangers. Simply put, it was like Christmas for the organization. No coursers were on the radar during the year.

In 2280, Glory, unit designation G7-81, a recently liberated synth, opted out of the memory wipe and joined the Railroad under the leadership of Desdemona. She was promoted to heavy the same year. In 2281, coursers discovered and razed another HQ to the ground and Tommy Whispers subsequently discovered the Switchboard. After moving the HQ, Desdemona's agents uncovered the Predictive Analytic Machine, an advanced pre-War computer AI that became a vital asset to the Railroad. P.A.M. provides the organization with locations of DIA caches, coursers to eliminate, and helps in planning operations so that they are as safe and effective as possible.

An Institute insider named Liam Binet, under the alias "PATRIOT," established contact with the outside world. Tinker Tom intercepted his messages and figured out his passphrase, which was "Mass Fusion." From then on, Patriot became the Railroad's main contact in the Institute, although he himself is totally unaware of this connection for security reasons. Institute sightings completely ceased for three months and just four synths were rescued. The Institute was gearing up to activate its reactor, while the Brotherhood decided it was time to intervene against them in the Commonwealth.

Organization
The Railroad is comprised of "tourists" (informants and sympathizers), safehouse owners, field agents, and HQ members. All individuals answer to Desdemona. Field agents are given aliases in place of their real names in order to protect their identities and operate on a "need-to-know" basis.

The Railroad's focus is on helping synths and slaves escape captivity. They assist other groups such as the Abolitionists and members including Horace Pinkerton and Amari perform full facial reconstruction and mind wipes on escapees. Their current command center is located in the Old North Church in downtown Boston, after their previous base was compromised following a raid by the Institute.

Railroad agents that serve as frontline soldiers are known as "heavies." They use Gauss rifles or railway rifles and wear armored coats. Agents infiltrate organizations and towns and collect intel, and use surveillance devices placed at high vantage points. Agents also serve a support role in establishing safe houses, stashing supplies, marking locations with railsigns, and sabotaging enemy fortifications. A network of allies called "tourists" assist the Railroad by escorting escapees to safe houses. Doctor Amari at the Memory Den assists with mind wipes.

Fallout 3
The Railroad plays an important role in The Replicated Man, in which the Lone Wanderer becomes involved in their conflict. During the quest, an Institute scientist named Dr. Zimmer requests aid in capturing a runaway android, and Railroad agent Victoria Watts pleads with the Lone Wanderer to take pity on the android and fake his death. Dr. Zimmer, Ms. Watts, and the android argue their point of views, and the player character must make a choice based on the limited information they gain from each of them. There are multiple "good Karma" solutions.

Fallout 4
In Fallout 4, it is possible for the Sole Survivor to learn about the Railroad through several sources and even join them after a certain point in the story. They can investigate the area around Park Street Station, speak with Doctor Amari at the beginning of The Molecular Level who indicates that the Railroad would be helpful to their cause, or overhear people in the Diamond City market, the Dugout Inn or guards in Goodneighbor discussing the elusive Railroad. All of these will result in the Sole Survivor getting the quest Road to Freedom. Upon completion of this quest and subsequently Tradecraft, they will be presented with the opportunity to join the faction. Piper also makes comments about them when The Glowing Sea quest starts.

Membership in the Railroad may negatively affect relations with other main factions. The more quests the Sole Survivor does for the Railroad, the more the Institute and the Brotherhood of Steel will disapprove of their actions. If the Sole Survivor sides with the Brotherhood of Steel or the Institute, they are eventually sent to exterminate the Railroad, as the organization's motives oppose both of the former parties' goals in the region.

Relations with the Minutemen are not affected by joining the Railroad. However, when completing the Minutemen version of The Nuclear Option, the optional mission must be completed or the Railroad (including Deacon if he is the current companion) will become hostile when the player character next speaks to Desdemona. One will still be able to accept A Clean Equation from P.A.M., Lost Soul from Doctor Carrington and even the To the Mattresses missions from Desdemona when notified by Drummer Boy. Any extra attempt to speak with her outside accepting and completing quests will cause the Railroad to become hostile. This is a bug as the Lost Soul missions should not be available if no survivors remain at the Institute.

Appearances
The Railroad appears in Fallout 3, Fallout 4 and its add-on Far Harbor.

Behind the scenes
The Railroad is modeled after the "Underground Railroad", an organization in nineteenth-century America dedicated to helping African-American slaves escape to northern free states and Canada through a network of secret routes and safehouses.