In Monopoly there are four railroads-Reading, Pennsylvania, B&O and Short Line, each of which cost $200. The amount of rent a player receives from each depends on the number he owns as shown in Table 1.

The four iconic railroads featured in the standard Monopoly board game are the Reading Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) Railroad, and the Short Line. These names were chosen during the game's development in the 1930s to represent the high-fidelity industrial power of the Northeastern United States. The Reading was a major coal-hauling line, while the Pennsylvania (often called the "Pennsy") was once the largest railroad in the world by traffic and revenue. The B&O holds the distinction of being the first common carrier railroad in America. Interestingly, the Short Line wasn't a true cross-country railroad but rather a shortened name for the "Shore Fast Line," a high-fidelity interurban trolley system that ran between Atlantic City and Ocean City. In the game, owning all four railroads provides a high-fidelity strategic advantage, as the rent increases exponentially from $25 for one to a maximum of $200 if a player manages to secure the entire "High-Fidelity" set of four.