The Railroad

The Railroad is an underground movement working to free sentient Androids from their creators, The Institute, a facility to the north in The Commonwealth. They also work to assist runaway human slaves. Their methods for aiding in escape can be extreme, going so far as to find doctors to perform full facial reconstruction on escapees. The extent of their influence is unknown, but they obviously operate in the Capital Wasteland, and at least as far north as The Commonwealth.

Overview
There is little information given about either the Railroad or the Institute, but the Lone Wanderer becomes involved in their conflict during The Replicated Man in Rivet City, where a scientist named Dr. Zimmer requests aid in capturing a runaway android, and Railroad agent Victoria Watts pleads with the character to take pity on the android and fake its/his death.

Both Dr. Zimmer, the android, and Ms. Watts give very logical and convincing arguments for their point of view, and the player must make an ethical choice based on the limited information he or she gains from each of them. There are multiple "good karma" solutions.

Victoria Watts, Manya, Father Clifford, Herbert Dashwood and Tulip are known members of the Railroad.

Appearances in games
The Railroad and The Institute are mentioned only in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes
The Railroad is likely inspired by the "Underground Railroad," a covert operation spearheaded by Harriet Tubman to rescue escaped African American slaves in the antebellum (pre-Civil War) South and take them to Canada and Northern free states through a secret and decentralized network of "stations." The owners of these stations offered help in the form of refuge during the day (escaped slaves would move during the night) as well as supplies and sometimes money. Similarly, members of the Railroad help escaped Androids gain their liberty and appear to operate in a similar manner, with each person only knowing their own position in the Railroad for the safety of the whole network in case one member should be caught.