Hey, I have a couple questions about using my scanner when railfanning and identifying consists, I have all the NS channels (I think) programed in and I used it the first time railfanning in my normal spot in Bellevue, Ohio just outside the humpyard. Well first off how do I know what they are talking about they are saying all this stuff and I dont understand it, or how to use it to improve my railfanning. Also I post my pictures on Railpictures.net (Only got two on so far.) but it asks for what train it is if you know, and I see alot of people have what train it is on their pictures, my question is how do I know what one it is? Thanks Mike
Its really all about listening to what they say, once in a while youll hear the town their in, or the yard their approaching. But yes, they do commonly use their own codes. I know in my hometown, They have FS1 and FS2, and i know they are switching in the yard because FS1 is Fitchburg Switcher 1, and FS2 is obviously Fitchburg Switcher 2. I tought myself to understand the railroad by jotting down the things i heard on the scanner, and soon enough i came to the conclusion that it can be done. They do name almost everything so its a bit of writing, but i found it to be quite successful. I hope i helped you.
PS. I am also an "NS LOVER"
Keith.
Well, unless you have a intimate knowledge of the railroad you are going to need some other information to decipher what is being said. I highly recomend the Altamont Press railfan timetables, but they are not available everywhere. These timetables contain information on many things that are very helpfull for the railfan. Employee timetables are very informitave too but are geared for the employee, not the railfan, and are less usefull as a tool for us railfans.
First off the tt will list all stations and relevant facilities (like wye's, yards, junctions, passing sideing lengths, ect.) by milepost and station name as well as distance from a predetermined point, like the end of the sub. This is a big help in deciphering locations being discussed on the scanner.
Then there are the scanner frequencies themselves. The railfan timetables list the scanner frequencies by AAR designated channel # (6-96) as well as the corresponding frequencies in Mega Hertz (MHz, which is what you enter into a scanner). These listings are also in the individual subdivision TTs so you will know what channels are used in a given territory. Typicaly there will be a road channel where warrents and instructions are communicated between the dispatcher and train crews (or in some cases MofW crews). Then there is the PBX channel(s) where most MofW communication is handled, and the railroad radios can tie into the telephone systems through their own mountaintop repeater system. Also yard and locals in congested areas typicaly have there own channel for the train crews to communicate with eachother. Another railfan bonus is trackside talking defect detectors. These detectors are spaced every 10-20 miles on the main and scan the train for hotboxes, drageing equiptment, shifted loads, high/wides and other things that the caboose crew used to look out for. The great thing is they typicaly report "no defects" over the road channel when a train passes (and sometimes report other details like axle count, train speed, time, ambient temp., ect.). this can be a big help to the railfan if you are not within eyesight of the tracks.
In addition to all that, the railfan timetables will usualy list the current symbol key for the various railroads within the timetable territory, which is the symbols I think you are asking about. Although this info can be hard to decipher, and even harder to peg to a timetable that would allow you to identify your trains, It is where the train symbols come from. Then throw into the mix that most trains (if not all) are ran as extras with the lead unit number being the identification rather then the origin/destination code and you can see it takes a certain skill set to be able to pin it down. The only way I know of to do this is know the traffic itself and what train it usualy takes, not an easy thing to do.
A few other things you will find helpfull in timetables are the loco rosters, passenger timetables (that do list scheduals), signal explainations, maps and traffic controll information.
i am an advid railfan allong the hoseshoe curve route and am looking to purchasse a scanner....what is a ideal scanner for my situation....is a $99 from radio shak good????
ILOVECRESSONANDLILLYPA wrote:i am an advid railfan allong the hoseshoe curve route and am looking to purchasse a scanner....what is a ideal scanner for my situation....is a $99 from radio shak good????
THATS THE SCANNER I HAVE I LOVE IT, MORE THEN ENOUGH FOR WHAT WE USE IT FOR, I Love the pics! Mike