Railroads became an important part of Randolph county starting with the arrival in 1858 of the track of the North Missouri Railroad prior to the Civil War. The North Missouri crossed the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad at Macon. This connection allowed freight to move from the Mississippi River at St. Louis, MO to the Missouri River at St. Joseph, MO. The North Missouri eventually became the Wabash Railroad. More recently the Wabash merged with the Norfolk and Western RR, which became the Norfolk Southern. The M. K. & T. RR (Missouri, Kansas & Texas) was the next line to be built through the county. Nicknamed the Katy, it connected Texas with the Mississippi River at Hannibal. The last major railroad in Randolph County was the Chicago and Alton, which connected Chicago with Kansas City. After a merger with the Illinois Central, it eventually became part of the GM&O. There was also a short line railroad called the Bevier and Southern, which ran from Ardmore in Macon county to Northwest Randolph. It was primarily a coal hauling train.
The list of railroad historical societies below includes some of the lines acquired by merger and/or purchase by the railroads listed above. Also included are some more generic railroad historical society sites. The Randolph County Historical Society is a member of the Wabash and the Katy societies. Their magazines are on file at the History Center.