Left ear, right ear: Amtrak in stereo
 It’s fun to watch two moving trains meet, particularly when it
happens right where you’re standing. Outside the Northeast Corridor and
commuter train zones, that’s not easy to pull off. But every so often I do, and
today was one such occasion. For that I give all credit to technology.
 The scene is the 120-mile-long North End Subdivision of CSX,
between Richmond, Va.,
and Rocky Mount, N.C. My technology consists of a radio
receiver tuned to this subdivision, a laptop computer with a wireless modem, and
software called ATCS Monitor, which can interpret railroad control commands and
show you a dispatcher’s view of the railroad—that is, the location of trains,
the position of power switches, and the indications of signals. (An example of an ATCS Monitor display is pictured on the top.) The bottom 85
miles of the North End Sub are monitored by radios that railfans have put in
place to intercept the ATCS signals. And over the internet you can download the
results.
 It is late afternoon. The trains are Amtrak 79, the southbound Carolinian to Charlotte, N.C., and Amtrak 90, the northbound Palmetto from Savannah, Ga.
On my laptop, ATCS Monitor shows the two trains lined up to meet on a two-track
section between Emporia and Trego, Va. U.S. Highway 301 loosely follows CSX
in this vicinity. The trick is knowing where the roads are that will intersect the
railroad a short distance away and knowing which one to turn onto.
I’m driving north on 301, trying to stay about a mile ahead of
train 90. I glance at my laptop and it shows 90 going past the switch at Trego this very moment,
meaning it is three miles from the end of two tracks at Emporia. Over the radio, train 79 calls the signal
in downtown Emporia,
so it is two miles north of the turnout. It’s pretty easy to deduce that if I
can reach the road crossing half a mile south of the switch, I’ll be in the
sweet spot.
Bingo! Trackside, I see two headlights, each half a mile a
way, converging on me. Train 79 whistles in my left ear as it goes through the
turnout at 45 mph and then accelerates. Train 90 whistles in my right ear as it
brakes from 80 mph to a more sedate 40 or so, approaching the switch. They pass
one another about 100 yards from where I stand. In a few seconds, it’s over. Pure
dumb luck could have yielded the same result for me. But technology made it
easy.
If you’re a user of ATCS Monitor, you’ve been nodding your
head. This is cool stuff. If this is all new to you, go here to learn
more about ATCS, and here to seek membership in the Yahoo Group that
controls the software (remember, you need a Yahoo ID to go here). Just bear in mind that the learning curve is steep, and
that it helps to have a friend who is already familiar with ATCS Monitor. — Fred W. Frailey
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oltmannd
wrote
re: Left ear, right ear: Amtrak in stereo
on
Fri, Feb 3 2012 1:48 PM
It's a beautiful thing! I use the ATCS monitor to catch stuff on the Abbeville Sub which is about a mile from my house. The train volume is fairly light - only about 15-20 trains a day. I can do all my chores around the house and keep tabs on where the trains are. Then, take a 10 or 15 minute break and go catch that action. Keeps everybody happy...
Also, rather than lug a laptop around, I just use a remote desktop application on my Android phone (Logmein Ignition) and connect to my computer running at home. I don't need AT&Ts more expensive tethering data plan, either.
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gmpope
wrote
re: Left ear, right ear: Amtrak in stereo
on
Fri, Feb 3 2012 3:30 PM
Fred,
You are absolutely right about the usefulness of ATCS on the North End. A few weeks ago, I was up in Emporia chasing an NS local when an early Q741 snuck into town. I knew I could catch up, though, because ATCS indicated he would meet 80 at Pleasant Hill. It even included a nice pace south of Skippers. On a side note, I found Frailey's Curve to be an excellent spot. My friend and I had a great time shooting northbounds coming up the hill from State Line Curve and Fountains Creek.
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gmpope
wrote
re: Left ear, right ear: Amtrak in stereo
on
Fri, Feb 3 2012 3:30 PM
Fred,
You are absolutely right about the usefulness of ATCS on the North End. A few weeks ago, I was up in Emporia chasing an NS local when an early Q741 snuck into town. I knew I could catch up, though, because ATCS indicated he would meet 80 at Pleasant Hill. It even included a nice pace south of Skippers. On a side note, I found Frailey's Curve to be an excellent spot. My friend and I had a great time shooting northbounds coming up the hill from State Line Curve and Fountains Creek.
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MP173
wrote
re: Left ear, right ear: Amtrak in stereo
on
Sat, Feb 4 2012 9:14 AM
Fred:
Im glad you added that the learning curve is steep. I looked at it a couple of years ago and .... passed.
Great photos.
ed
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cx500
wrote
re: Left ear, right ear: Amtrak in stereo
on
Sat, Feb 4 2012 12:41 PM
A bit off your theme, but for sheer sensory overload find a place where two railroads are close together and parallel, and with enough room to stand safely between them. Add two highballing freights. Darkness only improves the experience. True stereo.
John
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The Mighty Oz
wrote
re: Left ear, right ear: Amtrak in stereo
on
Mon, Feb 6 2012 4:49 PM
Fred has far and away long blown past the learning curve, kids. You ought to see the way he makes that ATCS monitor sing in the barren lands of New Mexico!
But it still don't do much for fanning in TWC or dark territory...You still need to "have your ears on."
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Paul_D_North_Jr
wrote
re: Left ear, right ear: Amtrak in stereo
on
Wed, Feb 8 2012 9:27 PM
A great place for "train stereo" is almost anyplace on NS between Altoona and Johnstown, PA, but especially at Horseshoe Curve. John/ cx500 is absolutely correct about the heightened sensory experience at night, but that can be tough to do at the Curve since the Railroader's Museum usually has closed off its access by then. Fortunately, there are other locations farther west, such as the Station Inn at Cresson, the Casssandra pedestrian bridge, etc., where the audio and visual show can still be enjoyed !
- Paul North.
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tabeckett
wrote
re: Left ear, right ear: Amtrak in stereo
on
Sat, Feb 11 2012 11:10 AM
I'm an electronic moron, so getting set up on ATCS Mon is probably beyond me without A LOT of help!! Someone should write one of those books, "ATCS Mon for Idiots". So I still mostly rely on the scanner and eyeballs, just like before the internet. Of course, on the really busy lines, like the UP in Nebraska or the BNSF Transcon, it really doesn't matter. Show up, you'll see trains. It would probably help me on the KCS though....but fortunately, I can hear the trains from my house and scramble for a chase :-)
My place for a real after dark listening experience is Marysville PA, at the end of Rockville Bridge. Just great to sit there in the dark and listen to the flanges squeal and slack run out as the trains accelerate off the bridge and head west. In the dark, they're PRR Truc Trains behind U25C's and SD 35's, knocking down the position lights as they head for Altoona and Pittsburgh.
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David S
wrote
re: Left ear, right ear: Amtrak in stereo
on
Wed, Mar 21 2012 3:14 PM
It's worth noting that not only are not all rail lines using radio code line (i.e., ATCS or some other protocol that does the same thing), not all of the ones that do have receivers along them that send their feed to the internet.
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