Fallout 4: How To Find The Railroad Headquarters

Locating the headquarters of The Railroad faction in Fallout 4 has proven to be a conundrum if you're not sure where to start. If you're reading this, then you're likely among the masses that the convoluted Freedom Trail has stumped along the path.

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Luckily for you, we have laid out the winding road step by step to help uncover this deftly concealed base of operations.

Updated August 9, 2024, by Andrew Scariati: If you're wandering around looking for how to find the Railroad, Fallout 4 has a few environmental clues to help you out – if you know where to find them. We've added more pictures and information to help you find where the Railroad is in Fallout 4.

Where To Start Looking For The Railroad

Park Street Station is the starting point of The Freedom Trail in Boston, which will lead you to The Railroad headquarters.

This old subway station is also an entrance to Vault 114 and is located in the same vicinity as Swan's Pond and the Boston Common.

Swan's Pond is an exceptionally dangerous location if you're not prepared to face the mutant that resides there; tread carefully and take a looping path around it if you want to avoid a fight.

At the station, head to the fountain and locate a golden Freedom Trail Marker embedded in the bricks.

It will read "The Freedom Trail Boston," and upon examination, you'll note it is marker "7A."

There will be a hand-painted sign above it, "At Journey's end follow Freedom's lantern," which will be leaning against the fountain.

There may also be a Tour Bot hanging around the crest, but that isn't a guarantee.

Where To Follow The Red Paint

Essentially, you'll be following the yellow brick road, except with its red paint rather than bricks in places and more of a line than a road, but the oversimplified concept is the same.

You will notice this red trail leading from the bottom of the crest. Now you'll need to follow the trail until you reach the Old North Church in Boston's North End district. It's not a leisurely walk through the park, though.

Along the trail, you will run into ghouls and other threats, so stay alert.

The trail will also die off in places for a short stint or prove difficult to discern among various debris.

The path is marked periodically by more gold Freedom Trail emblems, so if you've lost the trail and haven't seen one of these golden markers recently, you may have run astray.

Subway Carts

The first area where you may miss the path is near the cemetery, where you may encounter some ghouls.

The path runs behind a broken-down subway cart in front of the cemetery.

Then it runs along a building, disappearing briefly amidst gravel and dirt before reappearing at the other end of another scrap of a cart. It's fairly easy to keep track of as the broken-down carts are marked with a broad yellow stripe bordered by two red lines.

Scaffolding Beams

Immediately after the cart, you may get thrown off the trail again, as you need to cross the red line leading from the subway cart rather than follow it.

There will be a dilapidated building to the left from which a pack of Mutants may jump out at you.

You'll likely lose the path again here. However, scraps of red steel scaffolding beams strewn along the alley serve as makeshift directional cues.

You'll then turn right when you see an old Cola sign and two striped hazard barriers.

Rusty Rubble

The trail will pick up again at an alley to the right but will promptly turn you around when you reach another gold marker and lead you down an alley to the left instead.

The trail drops off once again, and you'll need to traverse a rubble-ridden alley. The only indicators here will be scraps of rusty metal sticking out of the rubble.

Back On Track

There will be a red and white striped entrance to the left at the end of the alley, but you'll want to turn right where the red path will pick up again and continue for a good stint.

After leading down a narrow back alley between two buildings, you may lose the path again, but this time simply turn left, and you should see the red line continuing.

The trail will drop again behind some large chunks of fallen debris but will pick up shortly, in front of another Cola sign. After that, keeping your eyes peeled for the red line should be enough to lead you to The Old North Church.

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How To Navigate The Old North Church

Once inside the church, you will be set upon by a swarm of Ghouls before you can get your bearings to sleuth out The Railroad Headquarters.

From the entrance, you will head through the broken paneling into the main chapel area, then take an immediate right.

Another door will be obscured by debris, but a fallen balcony with a white lantern painted on it will mark where you need to go.

There's a First Aid kit you can grab hanging on the left wall once you go through the door.

Continuing, you will head down a couple of flights of stairs, then take a right through another door; then it's a bit of a maze.

You'll take a left, then a right where you'll see another white lantern marker.

Now head straight until the corridor ends and take a right.

You'll head almost to the end of this corridor as well before slipping off into the left passageway and taking another immediate right, which brings you to the Railroad Headquarters entrance.

How To Activate The Railroad HQ Secret Door

Another gold Freedom Trail Marker will mark the Railroad HQ entrance.

However, you must interact with the crest this time, as it is a secret mechanism unlocking the hidden passage to The Railroad Headquarters.

The inner ring with the words "The Freedom Trail Boston" can be rotated clockwise and counterclockwise though there are no other indications of what you should do.

It seems the Railroad relies heavily on simplicity to conceal its secrets. Following the red line leading from the first marker was blatantly obvious but seemed 'too easy,' causing many to overlook it. The same is true of the crest.

You must simply spell out "Railroad" using the letters engraved on the inner ring to reveal the hidden door.

You need to line each letter up with the red arrow at the top of the innermost circle and press the crest's center with each one.

Viola! You have breached the clandestine walls of the covert Railroad faction.

Now the only thing left is to decide whether to join or oppose them.

The Railroad is a faction dedicated to helping "Synths" – essentially androids – to gain freedom and autonomy for themselves. The Railroad is an enemy of the Brotherhood of Steel and the Institute.

Important NPCs:

NPC Name

Railroad Role

Desdemona

Leader

Doctor Carrington

Second-in-command

Drummer Boy

Courier

Glory

Agent

Mister Tims

Caretaker

P.A.M.

Tactician

Tinker Tom

Repairman/Vendor

Key Loot:

• Astoundingly Awesome Tales: On the desk near the stone table.
• Tinker Tom Special: Sold by the man himself.
• Fusion Core: In the tunnel inside a generator.
• Nuka Cherry: On a shelf near Tinker Tom. A second can also be found in the tunnel.

Stay safe out there, and may your travels through the post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland of tomorrow prove advantageous.

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