Rail Road Radio Scanners

[Anonymous]

Hello,

Just wanted to let anyone here know that doesn't know already that there is an awsome site for listening to RailRoad scanners.

http://www.railroadradio.net/index.php

Just started listening to the Vancouver, BC feed last night and it's totally addicting.

I live just a miles or so away from Roberts bank, so I can even hear the trains blow their whistles (faintly) at night.

[Anonymous]

I used a Bearcat 7 Scanner (You drivers know what Im talking about) and when I was laid over in different areas I would ride the airwaves looking for stuff.

One of the most memorable was the litany of Police Officers being called into war after 9-11 while I was rolling thru Central Texas. The dispatcher would inform them they would respond and others would join in with support and it was a "full day"

I never really understood the train talk for two reasons 1- I am confused by all the train names such as STL 456U or UYT 654W and never could keep track em and Two- The periods of silences sometimes put me to sleep.

However a man had a scanner the day the Challenger came thru our area and he used it to listen for the train. It was very helpful.

[overall]

Highiron,

It has been my experience that a scanner is more useful in track warrent or direct traffic control territory because movement authority is granted by the dispatcher to the train crews via radio. If you know the territory yourself i.e. where the mileposts and named stations are, you can follow a train as it makes it's way down the road. I used to listen to CSX and NS in south Georgia/north Florida when I lived there. Now that I am living close to a line that is dispatched using CTC, All I hear is crews calling out signals and talking defect detectors. This is useful but not as much fun.

George

[RudyRockvilleMD]

A scanner is useful in another way. When track maintenance forces or signal maintainers ask a dispatcher for track time by listening to the dispatcher's reply you can get a good idea of what may or may not be coming and when.

I have not found the squawks from the rear end devices to be much use because their transmission range is short. Wayside detector read outs are useful provided you are not too close to the detector itself because most don't usually announce until after the last car of the train has passed it.

It is difficult to say what the range of a scanner is. A lot depends on the type of antenna you have, the railroad's repeater system, your distance from a train, and the type of terrain you are in.

[tree68]

I always travel with a scanner, although my interest is usually fire - Many times I am nowhere near a railroad, though.

It takes some research to find out who is using what frequencies. If you are dedicated to railroad listening, get a scanner with at least 100 channels and put the AAR channels in, in order. You might occasionally find some interference, but it's not as common in the railroad band.

If you are travelling with a scanner - beware of state laws on scanners in cars (there are plenty of scanner sites that will provide that info). Some states don't care, some will confiscate your equipment and you could be looking from the inside out. For that matter, I got stopped while walking with my fire channel equipped crystal scanner in Kentucky some years ago. I was fortunate that I didn't have the crystals for the local cops - I probably would have had to do some talking to make my flight out that afternoon.

Even in track warrant territory, you can't always go by what you hear. I regularly hear the NE dispatcher give a train several "blocks" ahead of where they are, as the blocks become available, or even "the whole railroad", all the way to their destination. If I am out of the range of the tower they use to give the Form D, they can sneak up on me pretty easily.

And, for that matter, I heard the DS give a train a form D today, based on the crews report that they were ready to roll. They were less than 5 miles from me (I could easily hear both sides of the conversation), but they apparently weren't "quite" ready to go. I finally heard the yard crew where they had done a drop give them a highball on the roll by almost a half hour later. They finally passed my about 10-12 minutes later. (2 CN engines on either side of a GCFX Lease unit and a Conrail Geep on the point).

Bottom line is, there could be a train coming - be ready (thus safe) and enjoy!

[RudyRockvilleMD]

This is for trees 68. You are right there are a few states that prohibit either the mobile (in the car) or the portable (in public) use of scanners without a permit or without an amateur radio operator's license in some states. Kentucky and Indiana forbid both the portable and the mobile use of scanners while Florida, New York Michigan, and Minnesota only forbid the mobile use of scanners.

Several years ago I was railfanning NS's "Rathole Division, and I was driving from Tennessee into Kentucky with my scanner hooked up to an antenna; I fully intended to put the scanner and antenna into my station wagon's lockable storage compartment before crossing the KY - TN state line. I got distracted by a radio report of an NS hot on my heels, and it was only when I reached the bridge over the Cumberland River near Burnside, KY that i realized I hadn't put the scanner away. To make a short story l did that before setting up to photograph the freight crossing the river. I was lucky although I have never heard anything about any railfan's scanner being confiscated in any of the states that restrict their use. Thebest advice is to be discreet when using a scanner even where there are no known restrictions.

[eolafan]

WOW, thanks guys for the warning, I did not even realize that some states forbid the use of portable scanners....best bet is not to use exterior antennas that will only serve to give you away...thanks again.

[tree68]

Having duly warned everyone about the prohibitions, I have to believe that unless you get caught doing something else, or are totally flagrant about it, you probably won't have any problems. Be a good citizen and railfan (as we all are) and you substantially reduce your chances of being hassled.

I've been carrying a scanner for over 20 years and have yet to have any problems. The one case I did hear of involved a traffic stop on other issues. The scanner charge was secondary.

If you live in, or visit Michigan, you might be able to get a scanner permit - I got one for a visit last fall. The application to MSP is on-line (don't have the URL). Don't know that railfanning will be justification, but if you phrase it right, it might just get by. I happen to have official fire radios in my vehicle (which was most of my justification), but the permit allows anything...