Last updated: August 4, 2026
This policy explains what railroadconsulting.com collects, why, who it is shared with, and what you can do about it. The site is operated by Thomas Railroad Consulting, Fallbrook, California. Questions go to Don.Thomas@RailroadConsulting.com.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers.
What we collect and why
Taking the safety quiz
Before starting the quiz you enter your first name, last name, and email address. As you work through it we record which questions you answered correctly, which you missed, how many attempts each question took, and the date you finished.
We use this to issue your Certificate of Completion, to let an employer confirm that their crew member completed the training, and to see which rules people struggle with most so the training can be improved.
Buying a certificate or a roster seat
Payments are processed by Stripe. Your card number never reaches this website and we never see or store it. We keep a record of the transaction: amount, date, what it was for, the email address used, and Stripe’s reference for the payment.
Company accounts and employee rosters
If your employer sets up a company account, we store the company name, its email domain, the point of contact’s email address, and a password for that account. The point of contact can add employees to a roster by submitting each employee’s name and email address, and can see those employees’ training status.
If you are added to a roster by your employer, your name and email came from them, not from us. A company point of contact is responsible for having the right to submit that information.
Locomotive Alerts
Signing up stores your email address, the cities you selected, how far in advance you want to be notified, and a password. You may optionally provide a phone number, which we hold for a planned text message option. We also generate a private management link so you can change your settings without a full login.
This information is used only to send the alerts you asked for. You can unsubscribe at any time from the management link in any alert email.
Contact and enquiry forms
The contact form and the safety audit enquiry form collect your name, email address, and whatever you write in the message. These are emailed to us and used to answer you.
Automatically collected information
Like most websites, our host records standard server logs including IP addresses, browser type, and pages requested, for security and troubleshooting. We use Google Analytics and Google Search Console to understand traffic patterns in aggregate. If you request a password reset, your IP address may be included in the reset email as a security measure.
Cookies
We use cookies to keep you logged in to a dashboard, to remember your cookie consent choice, and for analytics. Login cookies are signed and expire on their own. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. You can block or delete cookies in your browser, though dashboard login will not work without them.
Who we share information with
We share only what each service needs to do its job:
- Google hosts the spreadsheet and script that store quiz results, rosters, payment records, and alert subscriptions, and provides our analytics.
- Stripe processes payments and handles all card data.
- Hostinger hosts this website and delivers our email.
- OpenRouter generates the written summary in a company’s training report. When that report runs, employee training data for that company is sent to the AI model producing the summary.
- Your employer, if you were added to a company roster, can see your training status and certificate history for that company.
- Automattic provides spam filtering.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it. We never sell your information.
Content loaded from other sites
Some pages load content from third parties: map tiles from OpenStreetMap and OpenRailwayMap on the Excursion Map, historical photographs from Wikimedia Commons in the Locomotive Registry, and links to Amazon on the Merchandise page. When your browser loads that content, those services can see your IP address. They behave as if you had visited them directly, and their own privacy policies apply.
How long we keep things
- Quiz results and certificates are kept indefinitely, so a certificate can be reissued and an employer can verify past training. Tell us if you want yours removed.
- Payment records are kept as long as needed for accounting and tax purposes.
- Company and roster records are kept while the account is active.
- Alert subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe.
- Contact form messages are kept as long as useful for answering and following up.
Security
The site is served over HTTPS. Dashboard access is protected by password and signed session cookies, and password reset links expire. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we take reasonable steps to protect what we hold.
Your rights
You can ask us to show you what personal information we hold about you, correct anything wrong, delete it, or send you a copy. Email Don.Thomas@RailroadConsulting.com and we will respond within 45 days.
California residents have these rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, including the right to know what is collected and the right to delete it. We do not sell personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of, and we will never treat you differently for exercising a privacy right.
If your employer added you to a roster and you want your record removed, contact us and we will work it out with you and them.
Children
This site is intended for adults working in or around rail operations. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the date at the top of the page will change with it. Significant changes affecting how we use information already collected will be communicated to affected account holders by email.
Contact
Thomas Railroad Consulting, Fallbrook, California
Don.Thomas@RailroadConsulting.com
See also our Terms and Conditions and Legal Disclaimer.