Silver Star - Scanner and Timetable Questions

[ExtonFlyer]

Hi all,

I'm departing this upcoming Tuesday 3/2 on Amtrak 91 (Silver Star) from Philly to Tampa. I'm very excited! This will be my third annual trip down to Spring Training - I'm really starting to enjoy this tradition (and it doesn't hurt that my beloved Phillies are playing so well too!). I'll have a trip report posted as soon as I can after I arrive.

So, I have two questions that I'm hoping someone might be able to help me with in prep for my trip:

1) This will be my first trip bringing along my scanner. Taking advice gleaned from this site - I purchased a BC72XLT and a "beefier" rubber ducky antenna. As info, I live 2.7 miles from the "Keystone Line" and can hear decent transmissions (for a short time only) of passing keystones and septa trains - so I think that I am doing ok. Thanks to the help of various other threads on this forum as well as the outstanding page on OTOL - I've programmed in all of the AAR channels and believe that am ready to go.

Question: Do you all think that I'll be able to hear crew, engineer and dispatch transmission ok while riding in my roomette? I've since learned that I should have upgraded to the Diamond RH77CA antenna - but don't have time to order one for delivery by my departure. Any thoughts, comments, tips etc would be most appreciated!

2)Also, does anyone have any copies of employee timetables for the route of the Silver Star that they would be kind enough to share? I would love to be able to know max track speeds etc for the route. For quick reference...the route is:

Amtrak Northeast Corridor, New York to Washington

CSX RF&P Subdivision, Richmond Terminal Subdivision, North End Subdivision, and South End Subdivision, Washington to Selma

NS, Selma to Raleigh

CSX Aberdeen Subdivision, Hamlet Terminal Subdivision, Hamlet Subdivision, Columbia Subdivision, Savannah Subdivision, Nahunta Subdivision, Jacksonville Terminal Subdivision, Sanford Subdivision, Lakeland Subdivision, and Tampa Terminal Subdivision, Raleigh to Tampa

I would like to point out, for the record, that I will be a very responsible railfan and will only enjoy info I gain from the scanner and timetable in the comfort and privacy of my roomette. That has been discussed here before and I just wanted it to be known that I am aligned with this. Again, for what it is worth.

Thanks!

ExtonFlyer

 

[AlanB]

You'll be able to hear the crew. I've never had problems hearing them and I don't have a fancy scanner with a fancy antenna.

 

[GregL]

I have used a scanner with a 6'' long rubber antenna nad never had a problem. My first trip I also had a 2'' rubber antenna, and it did not seem to receive as good as the longer on. Since then I never use the smaller one. I also use a BC72XLT with no problems.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Sorry to thread-jack but I'm thinking of getting that scanner. Are they ready to go out of the box or do i need to subscribe to services for it to work.

 

[rrdude]

Ready to go out the box Wolverine....All you have to do, if you choose, is to program in your preferred channels to scan. If an old dog like me can do it, you can prolly do it in 1/10 the time.

Only advice I have is to get a rechargeable one (most are), get good ear buds, (u probably have some already) and play with the squelch, a lot.

Enjoy.

And BTW, no one should EVER have a problem hearing train crews, while you are on board, unless something is wrong with your scanner..........

 

[BigBlueBuddha]

Hi all,
I'm departing this upcoming Tuesday 3/2 on Amtrak 91 (Silver Star) from Philly to Tampa. I'm very excited! This will be my third annual trip down to Spring Training - I'm really starting to enjoy this tradition (and it doesn't hurt that my beloved Phillies are playing so well too!). I'll have a trip report posted as soon as I can after I arrive.

So, I have two questions that I'm hoping someone might be able to help me with in prep for my trip:

1) This will be my first trip bringing along my scanner. Taking advice gleaned from this site - I purchased a BC72XLT and a "beefier" rubber ducky antenna. As info, I live 2.7 miles from the "Keystone Line" and can hear decent transmissions (for a short time only) of passing keystones and septa trains - so I think that I am doing ok.

I too have the BC72XLT but I have the stock <_< 6" antenna. I live about 1.5 miles from the CN and WSOR mainlines and their junction between Milwaukee and Fond du Lac. There's always a lot of action at the junction (which is like a mini-yard with a few storage tracks) and I have no problem hearing the switching crews shuffling cars between the CN and WSOR. I'm also in range of a CN fault detector, ~ 2 miles. I hear the fault detector with its axle counts every time a CN train goes by.

Also, I've heard the Empire Builder near Columbus, WI when I've been within a couple of miles when she came through. Although I've not yet used my scanner on an Amtrak trip, I'm planning to do so during my upcoming April long distance trip. I anticipate no problems and I think you'll be just fine too.

Thanks to the help of various other threads on this forum as well as the outstanding page on OTOL - I've programmed in all of the AAR channels and believe that am ready to go.

The OTOL site is a real treasure! In case you hadn't gotten this far with your new scanner, I'll share a tip: you don't have to program each AAR frequency into the BC72XLT. You can enter "Programed Search" mode ([Func] then [PSrc]) and set the lower and upper limits of any of the 10 available banks. The BC72XLT comes pre-programmed with the frequency banks listed near the beginning of the manual. You can simply change the range of any of the banks (pick one that you won't be using much) so it scans just the RR frequencies. See manual for details. I've programmed mine so that my #6 bank scans between 159.810 and 161.565, covering the entire North American railroad frequency range, including both Amtrak and freight companies.

Have a great trip!