3 high....

What's the story with why the different levels beyond the obvious and where all do they go? What is each lines significance/use?

The Richmond Triple Crossing has a fascinating history. I won't bore you with all the details now. There were originally three railroads involved at the crossing, but today it's only two.

• The bottom track was part of the Southern Railway and is now Norfolk Southern.
• The middle level was the Seaboard Air Line, which is now CSX.
• The top level was the Chesapeake and Ohio, which is now also CSX.

This triple crossing first went into service at the turn of the 20th century when the Chesapeake & Ohio completed the top overpass at the location. It has been in continuous operation since. The elevated C&O trestle has been a distinguishing landmark in the skyline of Richmond ever since it was built.

Here's an across-the-river view of the crossing. The Southern runs at river level along the shore of the James River on the far side. The Seaboard is the line which crosses the river while the C&O is the elevated track parallel to the river and above the Southern line in this shot. I'm not sure what the bridge piers in the foreground are.

Richmond sits in a valley with nearby small hillsides very close to the river. You can see the different levels of terrain in this photo. This meant that the railroads all had to crowd into the area near the river. The result was this triple crossing of three major railroads all at different heights.

The one in KC is Santa Fe Junction.

Here are the railroads.  Borrowed from  KCRailfan.com

Santa Fe Junction

A railfan's dream, Santa Fe Junction is the sweet spot of Kansas City train watching, the junction is the intersection point of the BNSF Transcon, UP's main line to St. Louis, BNSF north-south line (ex-Frisco) and UP's Kansas City, KS line south to Texas (ex-Katy)

Thanks for the excellent explanation, Rich.

more train action,  nice train meets.....@ 6:54....

https://youtu.be/HS_c0stBRIU