heard on 161.460, RR repeater on the air in Duluth, MN

[N9NRA]

Hey all, when i was up north recently, i was listening around on the RR channels (i have `em programmed into my scanner), and i heard what appears to be a repeater on 161.460 MHZ (channel 90). What i`m wondering is, is this common (a repeater on railroad channels, i find it intresting), and what would it be used for? I have heard traffic on it, and from what i`ve heard it sounds like mabey yard stuff...but not all that sure. Any thoughts? Thanx! N9NRA

[DPD1]

Yes, the yards often use repeaters for the carmen and stuff like that. Usually only the big yards though.

[N9NRA]

Intresting, and thanx lots for the info, i listened to it a lot while i was up there during the summer working in Superior, and heard a goodly bit of traffic on it, stuff like an electronic voice message, "[railroad line name], [engine number] brake recovery in progress", followed shortly after by, "brake recovery complete, out". I always thought most RR radio stuff was simplex, or direct radio-to-radio traffic, and when i heard the repeater i was kinda intrested, as these aren`t heard all that much on raill channels. I take it these are for the most part low power units, covering only a few miles (something like mabey five miles tops)? I did attempt to recieve it when i was riding into work one morning with my Mom, but i couldn`t hear it well till i was nearly into Superior, although i was using my `396T with the stock duck on it, i just reloaded the HAM radio and re-organized the channels, and loaded that repeater into the unit (my TH-F6A has a better antenna than my `396T), so i`ll try this again and see what happens. It was kinda neat to hear what was on there, now that i think of it, i also heard an autopatch once, but i can`t recall the freq i heard it on, and i`ve not heard it since. Are those common too or has cellullar pretty much killed that "radio star" too? Thanx! N9NRA

[rhicks6000]

That electronic voice is a remote control locomotive. I hear the same down here" brake recovery in progress" "brake recovery complete, out" etc on the UP yard channel in Topeka.

[N9NRA]

Originally Posted by rhicks6000

That electronic voice is a remote control locomotive. I hear the same down here" brake recovery in progress" "brake recovery complete, out" etc on the UP yard channel in Topeka.

Intresting, and thanx all for the answers to my question. Remote controlled locomotives...intresting, i`d heard of those, but untill i saw these signs up on one of the tracks near Duluth/Superior i hadn`t ever encountered one. To be honest when my Dad told me about `em i was like, "what good is a train without an engineer?" The idea of running a locomotive remotely sounded kinda scary at first. Back to the repeater i heard for a monent, just how far out can/will i hear the site? As i said before, i would guess those are rather low power, as all they gotta do is cover the yard right? Thanx guys! N9NRA P.S. The signs i mentioned were to warn motorists that the trains cannot stop, and to look before crossing, and if the lights are flashing and gates are down to wait (you`d be suprised how many folks ignore them warnings...now THAT`S really scary).

[burner50]

Some short lines use a repeater... they can cover the entire railroad with only one.

[DPD1]

As for distance, it probably differs. But I know I've heard yards like Barstow CA and others like 20 miles away when I try. Of course that was across open land.

The unions of course are not huge fans of the remotes. Personally, I do think it's dangerous, but they'll do anything to save money.

[N9NRA]

yeah, i kinda agree there, like i said, when i first heard about `em i was kinda like, "okay, a train with no one in the cab...yeah". After my Dad explained it to me a bit more i was kinda intrested then. Curious question about them repeaters, do they use a PL? Most RR stuff dosen`t, but i`d think these would want to be running a PL or something to cut down on the interference. N9NRA