Railroad HQ

The Railroad HQ is a location within the North End district of Boston in the Commonwealth in Fallout 4. After a devastating offensive by the Institute resulting in multiple safehouses as well as their previous HQ falling to the enemy in 2287, the secretive organization known as the Railroad was forced to go into hiding. Under their leader Desdemona, they regrouped at this new base in the catacombs below the Old North Church, working to regain a footing in the struggle for the liberation of synthkind.^{[Non-game 1]}

Background[]

Fall of the Switchboard[]

Since 2281, the Railroad under Desdemona had been operating out of an old DIA facility hidden underneath a Slocum's Joe location in Lexington known as the Switchboard, where they acquired the Predictive Analytic Machine as a vital asset in their shadow war to liberate the synths from their subservience under the Institute.^[1] For five years, the Railroad was able to avoid Institute detection and continue rescuing synths, especially after the "recruitment" of the Institute insider codenamed "Patriot" in 2283.^[2]

In 2286,^[3] however, after a period of little to no surface activity from their enemy, the Railroad was caught off-guard as the Institute initiated multiple simultaneous strikes on most of their remaining safehouses. The worst was their attack on the Switchboard itself in an attempt to purge the Railroad's leadership. While Desdemona and most of the critical members were able to make it out safe along with P.A.M., many others including one of their "heavy" enforcers, Tommy Whispers perished. The survivors were forced to go deep into hiding afterward to throw off the Institute's continued pursuit.

A new HQ[]

Sometime prior to October 2287, the Railroad was able to pull itself back together after discovering the catacombs located beneath the Old North Church. Occupying it as their new base, Desdemona instituted a strict policy of seclusion; if a field operative even suspected that they were being followed by a courser or any agent of the Institute, they were to stay far away from the HQ until the threat was over.^[4] The Railroad also developed a security measure doubling as a test of character by augmenting the Freedom Trail landmarks leading to the church to act as a large-scale decoder for the password that opens the entrance to the HQ; this was designed to rely on the general illiteracy and lack of formal education among wastelanders and ensure that only the most capable will find their way to the Railroad and thus serve as ample material for recruitment.^[5]

Layout[]

Access to the Railroad HQ is only granted upon either joining the faction itself by completing Tradecraft or advancing Road to Freedom only after completing the main quest Hunter/Hunted and obtaining the courser chip, then following Amari's advice to "follow the Freedom Trail" to find the Railroad who can decrypt it.

Within the catacombs, the main fixture is a large circular table in the middle of the chamber where Desdemona usually lingers. To the left of the entrance is Doctor Carrington's area, with medical supplies and a treatment bed. To the right is Tinker Tom's corner, containing research equipment, a terminal, and a firing range.

On the other side of the circular table is a rest area where Drummer Boy and Glory can be found (Deacon will also be here if he is not recruited as an active companion). To the left is P.A.M.'s chamber, with several large computers and her terminal on the table in the lower section. There is a few chalkboards on the wall that lists the types of railsigns as well as listing active operatives' codenames and safehouses.

There is another exit from the HQ to the left of the rest area. This exit connects to an escape tunnel, which leads directly to a ruined building with a chained door on the surface north of the church next to the Pickman Gallery.

Inhabitants[]

Notable loot[]

• Astoundingly Awesome Tales - On the desk west of the central circular stone table.
• Lab scale - On a metal shelf near Tinker Tom. This is the only location where this item can be found.
• Mole rat teeth - On the table in P.A.M.'s chamber. This is the only location where this item can be found on its own.
• Blackbird report holotape - Held by Doctor Carrington.
• Fatigues - Worn by Desdemona.
• Tinker headgear - Worn by Tinker Tom.
• Tinker Tom Special - Sold by Tinker Tom.
• Prototype railway rifle - Used by a Railroad agent who is helping Tinker Tom test it.
• Fusion core - In the escape tunnel, inside a generator behind a security door operated by an Expert-locked terminal.
• Nuka-Cherry - One on a shelf near Tinker Tom's position. Another in the escape tunnel, halfway through, on a boat.

Related quests[]

Notes[]

• Upon being marked on the map, the Railroad HQ is one of the few interior locations the Sole Survivor can fast travel to and from.
• Unlike with X6-88 where bringing him will cause the Railroad to automatically turn hostile, entering the HQ with Paladin Danse will not turn them hostile.
• It is not required to visit every spot on the Freedom Trail during Road to Freedom in order to input the HQ access code within the Old North Church.

Morse code messages[]

Inside the HQ, one can find a Railroad agent decoding Morse code signals being sent over a ham radio. The sound files for the decoded messages and their translations are as follows:

Appearances[]

The Railroad HQ only appears only in Fallout 4.

Bugs[]

• PC Playstation 4 It is possible to become stuck when standing on the central circular stone table. To fix this issue, crouch and walk away, reload a previous save, or fast travel to a different location.^[verified]
• PC In the later quests, it's possible for the main entrance door to close without being able to be opened again.^[verified]
• PC If power armor is docked in the power armor station, it might become corrupted, causing pieces of the power armor to go missing and rendering it impossible to exit the power armor while in the HQ.^[verified]
• Xbox One There is a bug whereby Railroad quests will suddenly fail, and upon returning to the HQ, all occupants will turn hostile. However, this is not a state of formal hostility unless or until the Sole Survivor returns fire.^[verified]

Gallery[]

Overview

Table

Table

Bulletin board

Firing range

Firing range

P.A.M.'s chamber

P.A.M.'s chamber

Chalkboard

Chalkboard showing the railsigns

Astoundingly Awesome Tales

Nuka-Cherry

Fusion core in the escape tunnel

Another Nuka-Cherry in the tunnel

Armor workbench, Cooking station and weapons workbench

Chemistry station

Power armor station

Weapons workbench (tunnel)

Texture file

Concept art

Concept art

Magic: The Gathering card

Card art

Behind the scenes

References[]

Non-game

v · d · e The Railroad Locations Railroad HQ · Old North Church · The Switchboard · Mercer Safehouse · Rivet City Characters Deacon · Desdemona · Doctor Carrington · Drummer Boy · Father Clifford · Glory · Herbert Dashwood · High Rise · Manya Vargas · Terry · Mister Tims · P.A.M. · Ricky Dalton · Tinker Tom · Tulip · Victoria Watts · Boxer  · Scarecrow (character) Quests Main Road to Freedom · Tradecraft · Underground Undercover · Precipice of War · Rockets' Red Glare · The Nuclear Option · End of the Line · Tactical Thinking Side Operation Ticonderoga · Burning Cover · Boston After Dark · Memory Interrupted · Butcher's Bill · Butcher's Bill 2 · Mercer Safehouse Radiant Jackpot · Concierge · Weathervane · Randolph Safehouse · Variable Removal · To the Mattresses · Lost Soul · The Replicated Man · A Clean Equation · High Ground