Railfanning.org will celebrate 20 years on the web this October.
Internet records show the pioneering website was registered on October 7, 2002. But the site’s history dates to January 27, 2002, when an earlier iteration launched on another site, which evolved into Sightseers’ Delight.
To celebrate 20 years, Railfanning.org has launched a special section that includes recreated versions of former designs. The section also includes a timeline highlighting some of the pivotal moments in the site’s history.
Over the next few months, the site plans to publish exclusive content in honor of two decades of documenting railroad history. It also republished some content that was inadvertently removed over the years as the site moved platforms and changed from a site with each page manually coded to a content management system.
Railfanning.org tells the story of the railroads, both past and present. The site, formally launched in 2002, includes news and information about the railroad industry, vignettes about well-known and obscure moments in railroad history and details about communities the railroad has shaped.
The site is published and edited by Todd DeFeo, who has written multiple books about railroads, including the first-ever complete histories of several lines. He also hosts the Railfanning Review podcast, which includes interview guests, a rundown of headlines and in-depth examinations of railroad history.
