How can we help you?

TrainTracker uses a password-free sign-in system. No password to remember or forget.

To sign up:

1. Tap Sign In in the top navigation.
2. Enter your email address and tap Send Sign-In Code.
3. Check your inbox for an email from TrainTracker with a 6-digit code.
4. Enter the code to sign in and complete your profile setup.

The same flow works every time you log in. Codes expire after 60 minutes for security.

Your profile is your railfan identity on TrainTracker.

• Username - your unique handle (shown as @username).
• Avatar - upload a profile photo.
• Home location - used to power the "In My Area" feed. Set it by tapping "Use My Location" or clicking the map.
• Notification radius - how many miles around your home location counts as "nearby." Adjustable from 10 to 500 miles.
• YouTube channel - link your railfan YouTube channel to your public profile.
• Website - link a personal site, blog, or photo gallery.

All fields except username are optional.

The "In My Area" section on the home page shows recent sightings within your chosen radius.

To set or update your home location:

1. Go to Profile and tap Edit.
2. Tap Use My Location to auto-detect, or click the map.
3. Adjust the radius (10-500 miles) to control how wide the area is.
4. Tap Save.

Your home location is only used for filtering your feed and notifications. It is not visible to other users.

Tap Log Sighting in the navigation.

Required fields:

• Railroad - select from the dropdown (e.g. BNSF, UP, CSX).
• Location - tap "Use My Location" for GPS, or tap directly on the map.

Optional but encouraged:

• Locomotive numbers - enter the road numbers of the locomotives you saw.
• Train symbol - the railroad's operating symbol for the train (e.g. Q-CHILA1).
• Direction of travel - which way the train was heading.
• Photo - sightings with photos get more engagement.
• Tags - categorize your sighting (e.g. Freight, Passenger, Heritage Unit).
• Description - any extra detail about what you observed.

Tap Submit Sighting when you're done. Your sighting appears on the map immediately.

When you enter locomotive numbers, the field only accepts digits (0-9). Letters, spaces, and special characters are not allowed.

The railroad is already captured in the Railroad field, so enter just the number (e.g. "4014" not "BNSF 4014").

Locomotive numbers are optional. If you can't read the number from your photo or location, leave the field blank. A sighting without a number is still valuable for the map and community.

Most freight trains run with two or more locomotives. You can log an entire consist in a single sighting.

On the submit form, tap + Add Locomotive after entering the first number. A new row will appear. Repeat for as many units as you observed.

The locomotives are stored in consist order (leading unit first). Each number is linked to its roster entry if one exists.

A train symbol is the railroad's internal code for a specific train service, for example Q-CHILA1 (BNSF intermodal, Chicago to Los Angeles).

Symbols vary by railroad:

• BNSF / UP: letter codes indicating service type and endpoints
• CSX: alphanumeric series (Q trains, I trains for intermodal)
• NS / CN: numeric symbols
• Amtrak: train number (e.g. 3 for the Southwest Chief)

If you don't know the symbol, leave it blank. As you type, autocomplete suggestions will appear from the roster.

To edit a sighting:

1. Open the sighting detail page.
2. Tap the Edit button (visible only on your own sightings).
3. Update any fields including railroad, locomotive numbers, location, description, tags, and photo.
4. Tap Save Changes.

To delete a sighting:

1. Open the sighting from your Profile page.
2. Tap the Delete button and confirm.

Deleted sightings are removed from the map and all feeds.

The Re-spot feature lets you update a train's location as it moves along its route.

1. Open a sighting detail page.
2. Tap Re-spot.
3. Set the new location where you saw the train.
4. Optionally add a new photo.
5. Submit.

This creates a new sighting linked to the original, forming a chain that shows the train's movement history. The chain timeline appears on the sighting detail page.

The Map page shows all recent sightings as colored dots on a Mapbox map with railroad track overlay.

Tap any dot to see a tooltip with the railroad, locomotive number, train symbol, photo thumbnail, and time. Tap the tooltip to open the full sighting detail.

Dots are colored by railroad to help you identify traffic at a glance.

Use the filter bar at the top of the map to narrow down what's shown:

• Railroad - filter to a specific railroad (e.g. show only BNSF sightings).
• Time window - show sightings from the last 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days.
• Clustering - toggle clustering on/off. When on, nearby sightings group into numbered clusters that expand when you zoom in.

The map shows railroad track routes as a subtle overlay. At higher zoom levels (10+), tracks color-code by railroad, matching the sighting dot colors. At zoom level 12+, subdivision names appear as labels along the tracks.

This helps you identify which railroad operates which line and find new trackside viewing spots.

The Roster page lets you search for locomotives and train symbols across all railroads.

• Locomotives tab - search by road number. Results show the railroad, number, model, and status.
• Symbols tab - search by train symbol. Results show the railroad, symbol, origin, and destination.

Tap any result to see the full detail page with all sightings of that locomotive or symbol.

Community members can add new locomotives and train symbols to the roster.

From the Roster page, tap Add and fill in the details. New entries are added immediately and become available in autocomplete when logging sightings.

The roster grows organically as the community logs more sightings.

If you spot an error in a roster entry (wrong model, status, etc.), you can submit a correction.

1. Tap the locomotive or symbol in the roster.
2. Tap Submit Correction.
3. Fill in the corrected information.
4. Submit for community review.

Corrections require one community approval before being applied. You can view and vote on pending corrections in the Corrections tab.

The Railcams page shows a map of live railroad webcam locations submitted by the community.

Tap a camera icon on the map or select from the sidebar list. Each railcam listing shows the camera name, operator, description, and links to watch the live stream.

Use the search bar to find railcams by name, operator, or location.

Know of a railcam that's not listed? Add it!

1. Tap Add Railcam on the Railcams page.
2. Enter the camera name and operator (e.g. Virtual Railfan).
3. Add the YouTube live stream URL or website URL.
4. Tap the map to set the camera's location.
5. Submit.

New railcams appear on the map immediately.

If a railcam listing has problems (broken link, wrong location, duplicate, spam), tap the flag icon on the listing and select a reason.

Reports are reviewed by moderators. If you submitted a railcam, you can also edit it directly to fix issues.

The Gallery is a community photo feed separate from sighting photos.

To upload:

1. Go to Gallery and tap Upload.
2. Select a photo from your device.
3. Add a caption, select the railroad, and optionally tag a locomotive number.
4. Submit.

Photos are automatically moderated for content safety before appearing.

Browse gallery photos sorted by Recent (newest first) or Popular (most liked).

Tap any photo to see it full-size with its caption, railroad, and who uploaded it. You can like photos and visit the uploader's profile.

Tap the Follow button on any user's public profile or next to their username on a sighting detail page.

When you follow someone, their sightings appear in your Following tab on the home page. You'll also receive push notifications when they log new sightings (if notifications are enabled).

The Following tab on the home page shows the most recent sightings from people you follow.

If you don't follow anyone yet, the tab will be empty. Discover railfans by browsing sightings and checking out their profiles.

Every TrainTracker user has a public profile showing their avatar, username, total sighting count, badges, recent sightings, and social links.

Your email address is never shown publicly. Profiles are accessible at traintrackerapp.com/user/[username].

TrainTracker can send you push notifications for:

• Nearby sightings - a new sighting within your notification radius
• Likes - someone liked your sighting
• Following activity - a railfan you follow posted a new sighting

Notifications are only sent when the app is in the background or closed.

Go to Profile > Notification Settings to control what you receive.

You can:

• Turn each notification type on or off
• Set your notification radius (10-500 miles)
• Filter to specific railroads only
• Enable "Photos Only" to only get notified for sightings with photos
• Enable "Precise Location" to use your GPS location instead of home location for nearby alerts

By default, nearby sighting notifications are based on your home location. Enable Precise Location in notification settings to use your device's GPS instead.

Your location updates each time you open the app. It is not tracked in the background. If you haven't opened the app in over 2 hours, notifications fall back to your home location.

This is useful when you're away from home, like at a railfan meetup or on a trip.

Go to Profile > Edit to update your username, avatar, home location, YouTube channel, and website.

Changes save immediately and your public profile updates right away.

Share your referral link from Profile > Referrals to invite fellow railfans.

When someone signs up using your link, you both get credit. Referral credits count toward giveaway entries.

Go to Profile > Settings > Delete Account.

Deleting your account permanently removes your profile and account access. Your sightings can optionally be kept (anonymized) or fully deleted.

Deletion is irreversible. You can also email support@traintrackerapp.com for help.

Locomotive road numbers are purely numeric. The railroad name is already captured in the Railroad field, so entering just the number (e.g. "4014" not "BNSF 4014") keeps the data consistent and allows the roster to link sightings to specific locomotives.

Open the content (sighting detail, railcam listing, etc.) and tap the flag icon or Report button. Select a reason, add optional details, and submit.

Reports go directly to the moderation team and are reviewed within 24 hours.

A few things to check:

1. Make sure you've set your home location in Profile settings.
2. Try increasing your radius to 50 or 100 miles.
3. The default view shows the last 24 hours. Your area might be quiet. Try the archive for older sightings.
4. If you're in a less-covered area, be the first to log a sighting and invite other local railfans to join.

In-person - you were physically present and saw the train yourself.

Railcam - you saw the train on a live webcam feed and are logging what you observed remotely.

Both are welcome on TrainTracker. Use the "Spotted via railcam" toggle when logging a railcam sighting. Some giveaways may distinguish between the two for entry eligibility.

TrainTracker runs periodic giveaways for the community.

Each qualifying sighting earns entries. Referrals also earn bonus entries. At the end of the giveaway period, a winner is selected at random.

Visit the giveaway page for current prizes, rules, and your entry count.