Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

If you're doing it for commercial gain not a newsworthy or educational purposes then depending if it falls into fair use you will need to get permission of images owner you want to appropriate, the railroads, cars, etc. You don't need permission for public land.

As a Franchise Attorney familiar with copyright, I can say the following. Your situation has nothing to do with fair use or copyright for that matter as the other attorney suggests. Fair use is a limited, potential defense if someone gets sued for copyright infringement. The trains rolling on their tracks do not have a copyright and they are not a trade secret. However, they could be a trademark of the railroad. If so, you would be looking at trademark infringement in the absence of a licensing agreement with the railroad. Consult with a good intellectual property or franchise attorney in your area for specific advice.

Mr. Franchise - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.

Franchise Foundations, a Professional Corporation