Railroads occupy a legal position no other industry holds: a private business operating on private land under a federal regulatory scheme so comprehensive that most state law simply does not apply to it. This article explains that preemption structure and why it decides nearly every case against a railroad before the facts are examined. It covers grade crossing collisions, the single largest category of rail litigation, and the specific federal rules that determine which claims survive. It then covers employee injuries under a fault-based statute that predates workers' compensation and still governs a workforce of a hundred thousand people. It closes with hazardous materials, abandonment and railbanking, and the practical realities of investigating a rail case.