Does anyone know how to get a schedule for the trains that pass through a particular town? My son is a train fan and we are always trying to figure our when to take him near the tracks to watch the trains. We live in Cheney if that helps. Thanks for any advise or info you can pass me.
rrfanmom the best thing i can suggest is to get a RR scanner. most of the big railroads keep their schedules under tight lock and key, however if amtrak comes through your town you can get on the amtrak website and see what trains they have through your town. also if your son is into photography carry a camera with you at all times. also if theres a rail yard in town you can see whats coming in and going out plus the local/yard jobs. hope this helps tom
rrfanmom, WELCOME to Trainboard! First, most trains do not run on a public scedule. Amtrak does, as do other commuter operations. A day trackside can be a crapshoot--either feast or famine. Some days you catch 10 or more in a day, others, you see 4 in the smae amount of time. Timing a railfan trek for trains is really limited to Amtrak--and they are OFTEN running late. A scanner is your best bet. Radio Shack has scanners, reasonably priced. We can give you links to sites with radio frequencies, and help you program it to the channels you want. I have a RS scanner, so if you need specific help, I will assist as much as I can. Again, Welcome aboard!
Thank you! Thanks to you both. I had no idea there were scanners for the trains. I will check them out. My son thanks you too! His first word (other than mom & dad) was train! And his fasination with them has only grown. Now he makes up songs about them! Thanks again.
Oh yes! A camera, and a scanner are requisite railfanning equipment! Always take care when anywhere near the tracks! Welcome to TrainBoard! :teeth: Boxcab E50
I also live in Cheney and I can say If you watch the tracks long enough you will see something. For example while I was waxing my car this afternoon I saw 4 Eastbound trains in 1 hour. Kevin
Good luck with that test, KDM! Another excellent railfanning tool is an Atlas/Gazetteer. The big red atlas' at WalMart. They sell all different states, and can get one, likely for a new state. I have one for every state in which I have lived. I wouldn't go 'fanning without it!!!
Rrfanmom, I remeber as a kid growing up we lived about 4 blocks from the tracks. I never had a scanner as I would hop on my bike as soon as I heard the trains grinding up the hill. I always carried my little 110 instamatic camera with me even to school as I had to cross the tracks to get home. I spent many afternoons down at the crossing with lots of photos taken over the years. Do your son a big favor and go out and spend like $25 for a 35mm camera and let him shoot everything that comes by. He will definitely enjoy later in life. I know I did.
Thanks! What a great board this is. You are very helpful - thanks! I think the scanner is our best bet. I know we hear trains all the time and some days we get lucky, but too many times we get in the car and get to the tracks and no trains come after an hour or so we give up. Can you use the scanner in the car as well? That would be great for trips too. Thanks again for the warm welcome and the great info.
By the way- I also showed my son the pictures posted- truely great stuff. He really enjoyed them. Especially the close up of the engines and cabooses. Thanks for sharing. I think I'll start putting together a slide show for him. Great idea.
rrfanmom as far as I know there is a base station scanner which you can put on a desk in the house and a portable handheld scanner. The portable should come with both a house charger and a car charger, but I'm not too sure on that as i dont have a scanner myself. Happy railfanning Tom
rrfanmom, Make sure it is legal to use a scanner in a vehicle in your state first. is illegal in some states to use one in such a way unless you are a licensed ameteur radio operator (IN,Ky,Mi, Ny, are examples) Try this site here , is about the best I can do to help you on this http://www.railfanswelcome.com/RailfansWelcome.htm Good Luck and remember, you never what will show up on the tracks and when it will show
There is no problem with a scanner in Washington state, unless it is used during the commission of a crime to evade the law. Never had any trouble with the scanner in the car out here in the wilds of the "Nevergreen" state, unless there were high hills around me, which there is here in Ephrata. Reception is pretty poor. Also consider: http://www.railroadradio.net/index.php Scroll down to the Spokane stream. Here you can listen to radio traffic without having to pay for a scanner. It may not work in the car.
RRfanmom, You live on the line to portland (from Spokane) Amtrak unforunatly goes through there at about 11:15pm -12:45am if on time. So that's out (if he has a bed time). I see you don't live far from Spokane, so you can take him up there, to the railyard. Scanners can be used for hearing the conversations of the railroad crew, and as you get to know the lingo, then you will find that they are very helpful. I will try to post a list of the trains symbols and aporox. times through Cheney in the near future. When listening to the scanner if you hear an automated voice, this is a "defect detector" notifing the crew of problems. They are labeled by milepost and if there is one near you, that is a good way of knowing when a train is coming your way, or just went through your area. There is a Defect Detector at milepost 14.3 and 19.2. Welcome aboard. We need to get this lady a frequency for the River route.... any help?
