amtrakwolverine
Engineer
I have acquired a TomTom GO 720 GPS unit. Will this work on the train? I don't think it has a off road setting at least I can't find it.
Using TomTom GPS on train
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My GPS (a very old Magellan Road Mate 800) works pretty well. Sometimes it confuses a street/road that's very near (and runs parallel to) the tracks and indicates that's what it's on, but other than that it does seem to know it's on a railroad and follows it. It also reports the speed of the train pretty well. It doesn't seem to know it's passing or arriving at a rail station, however. Perhaps, your new Tom Tom, might do better, being more up to date.
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Texan Eagle
Conductor
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- Aug 25, 2011
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Put your TomTom GPS on Pedestrian/Walking/Biking mode depending on what is available, and then it will not insist on "jumping" to nearby roads as soon as it spots one. I have used my basic Garmin GPS on Amtrak and in trains in foreign countries too, and it shows the location and speed very accurately as long as you keep it by the window. What I did once was, I carried the windshield mount along with my GPS and stuck it up on the train window. It created quite a bit of amusement among co-passengers and passers-by.
amtrakwolverine
Engineer
Doesn't have one like my garmin does. The tomtom only lets you use bike or walking when you plain a route. I guess I'll stick with the garmin for train travel.The tomtom was a freeby anyway.
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OlympianHiawatha
Engineer
Since I've been acquiring Timetables such as the various Altamont Press offerings, I find I use my GPS less and less, realizing I can get much more accurate ideas of where I'm at, especially in isolated areas simply be reading the mileposts. Of course at night you have to rely on the Detectors but it still makes for fun "dead reckoning" navigation.
ScottRu
Service Attendant
Garmin has a cute app called "Where am I at?" I've found it to be entertaining as I travel the rails. Not as much fun as my Uniden scanner for listening in to the train chatter, but fun nonetheless. It does a good job of letting you know where you are ... as it's name implies! 
