How to avoid Railroading while still telling a good story. "Railyard" is my attempt at pinning a concrete phrase into my preferred style, and one that I believe is fairly common in homebrew campaigns? A few key points:
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Start from an origin point where multiple tracks are possible for the players to ride down
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The GM drives just barely in front of the train while laying down tracks for the players to follow and keeping in mind an ultimate destination (or multiple ultimate destinations!)
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Add stations/milestones along the way where different tracks can meet regardless of what winding turns it took to get there
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Whichever track the players choose should be able to intersect and interweave with the others as reasonable
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Allows for the GM to enact consequences (both good and bad!) based on their real choices that they make
How do storylines evolve and play out without direct player interaction/intervention?
What was allowed and not allowed to happen because the players chose to handle one problem over another?
How are major and minor villains getting more powerful when not in the spotlight?
When the players (or villains!) strike down major NPCs, how does that reshape the world politically?
Lastly, dependent on the players' backstories, what have their families, friends, and nemeses been doing since they started their adventure? Interweave them onto the rails both on the track that the players' train is on as well as the tracks that are not chosen.
The cons are such that it is more time consuming to worldbuild and prepare for game sessions, as well as the need to be cognizant of the details for all major NPCs and potential storylines at the same time.
An example: