A couple of things to add to what Balt said:
Under PSR, the 'normal' practice if a train gets 'ahead of schedule' is to run in lower notch, or even stop and shut down all but one of the engines, etc. to save (or look as if you're saving) fuel. The 'schedule' doesn't have the criticality that a passenger schedule would as far as arrival at intermediate points is concerned, but there's considerably less work and possibility for accident if moves are 'precisely scheduled' as expected or planned.
A number (possibly, most) of the unit coal trains that run through my area have sufficient demand that they run on a fairly observable daily schedule, presumably tied to proper equipment utilization. Here an additional concern comes in. Every time you brake a train that size, you lose a measurable amount of shoe and tread life; every time you accelerate it from rest up to track speed you spend something like $150 you didn't have to; if you have 'commodity' intermodal trains in the traffic mix, it may be more sensible to stab them rather than stopping the heavy commodity mineral train -- so the coal train gets priority in the scheduled window it 'gets to' whether it happens to have been delayed at some earlier segment.
CMStPnPWhen I was a kid back in the 1970's you could set your watch (give or take 10-15 min) to a good portion of the freight trains on the Milwaukee Road Twin Cities mainline through Brookfield, WI
Same here, ....I recall hearing the trains on the nearby Wabash blowing for a series of crossings across the river, and one day started logging them. And to my amusement noticed an unmistakable pattern. Precise Scheduling!!
Being a single track main with ample passing sidings, time seemed the ideal mechanism to make it all work.
A westbound CSX train sounds its horn for the crossing near my house at 10:07 PM almost every evening. Sometimes it varies, but most of the time it's within a couple of minutes or so.
Likewise, when I walk my dog in the parks, there's an eastbound CSX autorack train about 7:55 AM, and a southbound W&LE train (crossing over CSX & the Cuyahoga River on a long truss bridge) within a few minutes of the CSX.
These three trains (at least) seem to keep to a schedule, and thank goodness. I'm getting some good videos as a result, and a side benefit to walking Sheila.
In the Before Days, when I had to go to into the office, I worked at an office directly alongside the CSX tracks through downtown DC. Depending on the day of the week, there would reliably be either an intermodal or manifest freight come through when I took my lunch. If I went to the platform at L'Enfant and saw greens, I'd wait for a few minutes to see what came. If there were red signals, I'd go get lunch. After I ate, there would usually peek at the signals again. If there was a green in either direction, I could afford to wait a few minutes for the traffic. The same transpired at around 3 in the afternoon when I took a break. If there was nice weather, I'd go outside and check for greens. There was typically something coming through around then.
Schedule or not, it was pretty reliable.
tree68 Most such sites that have that info are "crowd sourced," like wikis. Contributors note information about a given train and submit it. F'rinstance, there is a site with CSX train symbols, and the Deshler and Fostoria rail cams both have an associated spreadsheet with the day's trains. Others may as well. The railroads don't publish that information.
Most such sites that have that info are "crowd sourced," like wikis. Contributors note information about a given train and submit it. F'rinstance, there is a site with CSX train symbols, and the Deshler and Fostoria rail cams both have an associated spreadsheet with the day's trains. Others may as well.
The railroads don't publish that information.
In the link below, you can see that, after the train passes, he gives the train symbol/number and the route. He does it for almost every train. Where does the symbol/number come from?
https://youtu.be/W_IYcJ_9df0?t=1126
Does the EoTD give any information?
Perry Babin tree68 Most such sites that have that info are "crowd sourced," like wikis. Contributors note information about a given train and submit it. F'rinstance, there is a site with CSX train symbols, and the Deshler and Fostoria rail cams both have an associated spreadsheet with the day's trains. Others may as well. The railroads don't publish that information. In the link below, you can see that, after the train passes, he gives the train symbol/number and the route. He does it for almost every train. Where does the symbol/number come from? https://youtu.be/W_IYcJ_9df0?t=1126 Does the EoTD give any information?
The EOT only gives electronic "chirps" when communicating with the head end. All it does, unless you have the receiver that can decode the chirps, is alert one to the presence of a train within a few miles.
Even if you could decode the chirps, the information is only air brake pressure, movement, high visibility marker status and battery status. Even air turbine EOTs have a battery. It does not give out train symbols.
Jeff
Perry BabinIn the link below, you can see that, after the train passes, he gives the train symbol/number and the route. He does it for almost every train. Where does the symbol/number come from?
Once again, a lot of that information is crowd sourced, combined with familiarity of the operation. As Balt points out, the trains do run at consistent times (some moreso than others - especially if performance is specified in a contract). Here is a spreadsheet from Deshler:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BOhdvzfCAbneAMC_gvqrAxzC4FaqFZtmypHS68Ix1XU/edit?fbclid=IwAR0yoI01kU2DCR8qipOfLdUoGqShSYkXo_ecTQauE63LrJd4UJtoPgCZM_A#gid=1032675949
And here is a website with CSX train symbols. The curators of this site not only have gathered origins and destinations, but connecting symbols for other Class 1's. I don't follow the other Class 1's, so don't know if there are equivalent sites for them.
http://railroadfan.com/wiki/index.php/CSX_Train_Symbols
Some of this information comes from listening to crews calling signals. This can be especially true if someone doesn't have all the trains on a given line memorized.
Other information can come from "inside sources" - friendly railroad employees willing to share pertinent information (usually anonymously).
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68 Perry Babin In the link below, you can see that, after the train passes, he gives the train symbol/number and the route. He does it for almost every train. Where does the symbol/number come from? Once again, a lot of that information is crowd sourced, combined with familiarity of the operation. As Balt points out, the trains do run at consistent times (some moreso than others - especially if performance is specified in a contract). Here is a spreadsheet from Deshler: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BOhdvzfCAbneAMC_gvqrAxzC4FaqFZtmypHS68Ix1XU/edit?fbclid=IwAR0yoI01kU2DCR8qipOfLdUoGqShSYkXo_ecTQauE63LrJd4UJtoPgCZM_A#gid=1032675949 And here is a website with CSX train symbols. The curators of this site not only have gathered origins and destinations, but connecting symbols for other Class 1's. I don't follow the other Class 1's, so don't know if there are equivalent sites for them. http://railroadfan.com/wiki/index.php/CSX_Train_Symbols Some of this information comes from listening to crews calling signals. This can be especially true if someone doesn't have all the trains on a given line memorized. Other information can come from "inside sources" - friendly railroad employees willing to share pertinent information (usually anonymously).
Perry Babin In the link below, you can see that, after the train passes, he gives the train symbol/number and the route. He does it for almost every train. Where does the symbol/number come from?
I might add, none of the Class 1 carriers use the same 'train identification' system. Each carriers system makes sense for that carrier, but not when compared to other carriers. 'Trains', a year or two ago, had a article that gave a brief explanation of each carriers train identification nomenclature.
CSX has changed their train naming system since that article was published.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
This type of information may seem like common knowledge but when you don't know precisely what to search for, it's difficult to find.
Thanks for the links and other replies.
In my country we have the Canadian Trackside Guide, a book which is published annually by a volunteer group in Ottawa (Bytown Railway Society). It's essentially a compilation of railroad information including train numbers and radio frequencies. Definitely worth picking up a copy if you're railfanning in the Great White North.
Any information about train numbers and freight 'schedules' will have originated from an inside source (like me) and after a few months or years it may no longer be reliable. In particular CN's train numbering system seems to operate a bit like how points are awarded on "Who's Line Is It Anyway"......
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Do they plan on putting it online so it could be kept up to date?
tree68 Have fun! And check out Harrison's work (North Country Trains). Sounds like he's about your age, and has reached the point that he's now volunteering with a tourist line.
Have fun! And check out Harrison's work (North Country Trains). Sounds like he's about your age, and has reached the point that he's now volunteering with a tourist line.
Thanks for the plug Larry.
Please do shoot me an email, Bear33. This forum is a wealth of information, but I can get you set up with the places where people our age hang out and talk trains. You'll be amazed at how many kids and teenagers are "railfans".
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
Find Facebook groups that cover the railroads that you're interested in. They are a wealth of current information. They are the only reason that I broke down and joined FB. And I'm 63, an old fart. I remember when I started railfanning as a pre/early teen. It was exciting to keep learning about new railroads that I'd never heard of. When I saw my first issue of Extra 2200 South, I thought that I was in nirvana.
When I started railfanning I thought for the longest time that I was the only railfan out there..And then I met this other kid one day..he had written the PR departments of every single railroad in Canada and the US..and he had one heck of a collection of letters, 8x10 glossy photos, and various other trophies. He brought them all to school one day..that's when I realized that there were two railfans..me and him.
The Deshler web cam, as outlined above, is a great online resource for watching CSX mainline action.
I work at home and have one computer set up to watch and listen to action. Currently tuned into Chesterton, In on the NS mainline. Also listen to the dispatcher/train discussion. Typically I will monitor a location daily until I get bored. I will also keep a notebook of train movements. The freight schedules are typically pretty tight with the intermodals, particularly the domestic intermodals, and very tight with those handling UPS trailers and containers.
Prior to Chesterton I monitored Deshler and before that Berea, Oh (both NS and CSX plus occasional W&LE). Before that it was Chesterton for years. I also pay attention to what each train carries. The operations are typically very disciplined.
Currently there is great action on the NS -Chesterton web cam starting around 5am with 3 hot UPS eastbounds (22x, 28v, and 28m) with a couple of hot eastbound UPS trains (25G and 29G) mixed in with regular general freights (34J and 34G eastbound) plus westbound 33G. Mix in Amtrak 29 and 49 with Amtrak 350 and 371, plus eastbound local Bo8, plus a couple of CP trains (typically CP230/231) and it is a busy morning between 5am and 9am.
After awhile I can identify trains by the directions, time, and consists. Nerdy? Yes. Does it affect my workload? No.
The afternoon parade has begun -22H, 257, 27G, and Amtrak 353 have passed in the last hours. Monster local B10, an Elkhart - Burns Harbor turn typically with 100+ cars each way has yet to appear. Bo8 has returned to Burns Harbor. UPS train 22x will lead the eastbound intermodals, followed (in no order) by 264, 266, 268, and 26x, plus throw in a 150 car 30Q, and the return B10 with 125 cars of steel products grinding up Otis Hill. Around 4pm the westbound intermodal parade will begin.
Oh, I didnt thru in the coal trains (880, 881), the CSX Q326/327 plus N800/E801 coal trains, plus ethanol and grain trains...
Yeah, I think it is ok to enjoy this hobby. Just to keep it interesting i also throw in astronomy, weight lifting, biking, gardening, and electric bass.
Ed
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