# Heritage Units

> Track and report special interest locomotives for major US railroads. (iPhone/iPad app by Brian Minnich.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heritage-units/id1117504088 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Brian Minnich](https://appshunter.io/developer/1117504087)
- Category: Entertainment
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.10/5 from 250 App Store ratings · 88 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 17+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 122 MB
- Released: 2016-06-01
- Data updated: 2026-08-08
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heritage-units/id1117504088/reviews.md

## What is Heritage Units?

Track and report Heritage units (locomotives) and other special interest units for Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, CSX, BNSF and other railroads.

Features:

• View reported locomotives within a 200 mile radius of your devices location.
• Report a new locomotive location directly from the app
• View locomotives on maps

All recorded locomotive information is provided by volunteers using native apps and website (https://www.heritageunits.com)

Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

Terms of use: https://www.heritageunits.com/user/terms
Privacy policy: https://www.heritageunits.com/user/privacy

## Key features

- Track heritage units
- Report new locomotive locations
- View locomotives on maps
- Search within 200 miles
- Support for major railroads

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Membership | $5.99 | per year |
| Ad Free | $0.99 | per year |


## What do users think of Heritage Units?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 🎯 Excellent tool for tracking heritage units and special locomotives
- 📍 Real-time location reporting from community users
- 👍 User-friendly interface and intuitive navigation
- 📸 Ability to upload photos of locomotives
- 🚀 Responsive developer support and regular updates
- 🌐 Comprehensive rail line maps and train symbols
- 💬 Active railfan community engagement
- ⭐ Highly useful for YouTube content creators and railfans

**Cons**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
- 🔓 Persistent login/logout issues
- ⚠️ Confusing error messages without clear explanations
- 📵 Limited photo upload capacity for free users
- 🚫 Arbitrary account suspensions and bans
- 📧 Poor customer support and unresponsive to emails
- 🔄 Location tracking inaccuracies
- ⏱️ Report limits feel restrictive to active users
- 🎮 Lack of dark mode option
- ❌ Missing many locomotive units in database

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes when refreshing or loading reports
- Persistent 'You've reached your limit for spots' error that lasts weeks or months
- Login credentials rejected despite correct password/username
- Automatic logout after 1-2 months of inactivity
- Premium subscription purchases not recognized by app
- Email validation not working or emails not received
- Location tracking showing incorrect geographic location
- Reports not posting after submission despite multiple attempts
- Timezone error when submitting reports
- App incompatibility with certain iOS versions (iOS 12, etc.)
- Cannot report certain locomotives that exist in database
- Notification system stops working after initial use
- API exceptions with no user-side resolution
- Random account suspensions without explanation

**Most requested features**

- Dark mode and light mode toggle
- Report timestamp visibility to distinguish old vs new reports
- Edit and delete buttons for submitted reports
- Increase daily/monthly report submission limits
- Ability to favorite or star specific locomotives
- View history of past reports made by user
- Color-coded report age indicators (green for current, red for old, etc.)
- Push notifications for units within 50-100 miles
- Guest mode without account creation requirement
- Chat feature for railfan community discussion
- Add more heritage units to database (NS 3625, BNSF H1s, etc.)
- Unlimited photo uploads for free users
- Live time and destination information for trains
- Ability to report multiple units in single photo with highlights
- Include normal locomotives, not just heritage units

## Recent user reviews (10 of 88)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heritage-units/id1117504088/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Trying to get in

*2026-06-28, version 5.09*

I made an account to logged in but it never put me in and it locked me out of my account and every time I try making a new one it won’t let me and when I go back to the original one that I made it still won’t work because it says something‘s wrong even though that’s how it’s saved in my Passwords app

### 1/5 — Bad review.

*2026-05-11, version 5.09*

Did not allow me to register because apparently my email domain doesn’t exist.

### 5/5 — Great and handy!

*2026-04-17, version 5.08*

This app is great to avoid the spectrum nerds on Facebook and just get real time information from reports.

### 5/5 — Inbound trains not working

*2026-03-28, version 5.06*

My premium membership expired and I watched an ad to see any tracked train locomotives and I watched two ads, but it never unlocked

### 5/5 — RAILFANS DOWNLOAD NOW!

*2026-01-31, version 5.03*

This is so amazing! I’ve caught  multiple heritage units with this app! Another railfan told me about it and I’m so glad he did!

### 5/5 — Nice tool when watching trains

*2025-11-23, version 4.43*

Good to know if something good is coming only thing is as of recently the app keeps crashing for whatever reason. Other than that no complaints.

### 3/5 — Good but could be better

*2025-08-25, version 4.42*

The app is great for knowing that units are nearby. I’ve used it several times to locate units before, and most of the time the train tracker is either accurate enough or wildly misleading. 

One thing that should be added is report timestamps. You can select when the unit came through, but then people will go through all the webcams and fill up the nearby reports with useless reports from hours beforehand. It should say when the report was submitted in addition to the pre-existing timestamp.

### 4/5 — Photos

*2025-08-19, version 4.42*

It’s a really good app just wish I could upload a few more photos otherwise a good app

### 4/5 — It’s great and not Facebook

*2025-06-14, version 4.34*

This app is amazing as it tells you where special locomotives are. Recently CSX YN2 units were added which makes life so much easier in finding them. The only thing I don’t like is that a ton of foamers use the app and unfortunately many of the foamers know about these special things and ruin those videos made by true railfans. While it really depends on location, it is a problem. Another issue is sometimes there is a lack of reports of a unit. Once an SP patch made it across the US with no reports until Boone, IA. No idea how that happened.

### 1/5 — Please fix and update the app

*2025-05-17, version 4.31*

I can’t report the heritage unit because it kept saying this error message: Error
You've reached your limit for spots...
Please enjoy some coffee and try again in a few hours
Btw the FAQ doesn’t explain why I kept getting the error message

## Frequently asked questions about Heritage Units

### What does the Heritage Units app do?

This app allows you to track and report special interest locomotives, often referred to as 'heritage units,' from major US railroads like Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, CSX, and BNSF. You can view reported locomotives on a map within a 200-mile radius of your location and report new sightings.

### How do I report a new locomotive location?

You can report a new locomotive location directly from the app. The information recorded by the app is provided by volunteers who use the native apps and website.

### Is the app free to use?

The app is free to download and use, but it does contain in-app purchases and advertisements. Specific details about the cost of in-app purchases are not provided in the description.

### What railroads are supported by the app?

The app supports tracking and reporting heritage units for major US railroads including Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, CSX, and BNSF, among others.

### Can I see locomotives near me?

Yes, you can view reported locomotives within a 200-mile radius of your device's current location. This feature helps you discover special units in your vicinity.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 5.11 — 2026-07-30

Additional Direction during reporting (In Yard, Idle, etc)
Secondary Routes configured for a train will now display 
Fixed inbound train screen where legacy screen was accidently deployed in v5.10

### 5.10 — 2026-07-27

Additional Direction during reporting (In Yard, Idle, etc)
Secondary Routes configured for a train will now display

### 5.09 — 2026-04-21

Map Enhancements

### 5.08 — 2026-04-11

Map Enhancements

### 5.07 — 2026-04-05

Maintenance update with general improvements and bug fixes

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## Related topics

[heritage units](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/heritage-units) · [union pacific](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/union-pacific) · [norfolk southern](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/norfolk-southern) · [csx rail](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/csx-rail) · [csx](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/csx) · [csx train tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/csx-train-tracker)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-08.*