The nukes hardly scratched the US railway system. No nukes in Kansas City, none in the southern Chicago area bordering Indiana. Buffalo and Pittsburgh weren't hit. New York wasn't directly hit. The Russians were sloppy when it came to "disabling" America's railway system. There are 4 major rail lines running right through the continental US East to West and north of the Mason-Dixon line, and 4 more East to West rail lines south of it. Three of these lines would have survived the attacks listed in the version 2.2 strike list. There are also several "secondary lines" connecting these primary "high speed" routes. Crawford County PA where I live actually operates a "spur line" that's nearly 50 miles in length. All of these lines are made from Class 4 Rails built for 150 car high max (maximum loading per car) load outs. The reason these lines exist is to supply critical bulk resources to various entities in the US. Our northern rail lines carry primarily iron ore, salt and coal. Southern rail lines carry mostly bulk crops, lumber and oil. In the mid 90's after the newly established (in 1991) Commercial Drivers Licensing Act created large shortages of qualified truck drivers, the trains began carrying fully loaded semi trailers. These trailers would then be "distributed" by regional truck drivers. This pattern continues to this day. The rail lines are so critical to a US military operation that huge resource levels are devoted to them in a time of war. Here is the reason why from a commercial truck driver. If I am tasked with hauling an M1 Abrams from a depot to a port, I must get an oversized load permit because of what my truck AND the tank weighs. At about 54 tons for the first generation M1, and 16 tons for the truck and trailer, you are looking at about 70 tons in total weight. The vast majority of US highway bridges are rated at 35 tons for straight trucks and 70 tons for combination vehicles (this is known as "bridge weight" by the DOT). I would be limited to about 20% of US highways with a load this heavy and I'm hauling ONE tank. A train could haul 100 to 200 such tanks on a single train with 2 to four linked locomotives over ANY Class 4 Rail line in the US. At an average speed of 50 mph for a freight train. This kind of heavy lift capability makes the rail lines indispensable for military deployments. Once the Exchange occurs and the trains stop running, those lines become no less valuable. Rail bridges are built for massive loads and would be the last bridges to collapse from lack of maintenance. Many rail spurs travel into areas that are hard to reach by roads, ending at lumber mills, coal mines and other remote locations that contain heavy industry. Even "abandoned" rail lines often offer the best travel in difficult terrain like mountains, woods or jungle (as my Christian relief workers found out). There would be many "improvised transports" on rail lines all over the world after the exchange.
For ideas on the types of vehicles you might find running the rails and doing repairs, just check out Appalachian Railcars Inc. or HARSCO railway Transports Inc. They have various vehicles for rent or for sale on their websites.
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