The railroad industry plays a vital role in transporting goods, raw materials, and food necessary to the well being of the population and necessary to facilitate the operations of our industrial economy. Because of the vital part that the railroad industry plays in the economy and because of its ability to move goods with relatively small amounts of fuel, the US ERDA embarked on a study to determine the role of the Federal government in promoting conservation in the industry and in freight movements in general. Toward this final objective, the study compiled a description of the railroad industry, its structure, equipment, facilities, economics, and energy consumption; compiled a description of the regulation of the industry and considered ways in which the regulation has affected fuel consumption by the railroads; and analyzed candidates for fuel efficiency improvement and evaluated them on the basis of economics and the likelihood of their adoption by industry. A description of the industry, an analysis of energy consumption by the industry, a discussion of mechanisms for evaluating efficiency improvement proposals, a description and evaluation of conservation efficiency improvement proposals, a description and evaluation of conservation opportunities, and a discussion of recommended activities are included.