EOT Freq.'s great for railfanning!!!!!!

[spdfile1]

For those of you who are really into railfanning to the extreme you already know about the EOT (End Of Train) freq.'s but for those of you not already famaliar they are an invaluable tool!!!! They are on 452.9375 (Locomotive) & 457.9375 (Last car on a train). It's not what you hear but when and how strong you hear it. What you hear is data chirps. But when you hear it you know a train is close by. It works like this. The loco frequency sends data such as air pressure, etc. to the rear of the train and vice-versa. The neat thing is that it is low-powered (around 5 watts) so you only hear activity when a train is close by. Depending on the trains speed, radio/antenna setup & terrain you have about a 5-20 min window before you are greeted. If you railfan Norfolk Southern you might want to also add 161.115 to your radio as it is also used as an EOT freq. These freq.'s along with any defect detectors (and even crossings nearby) are extremely valuable tools to a railfanner!!!! Have fun.

 

[timkilbride]

Were you the host of extreme trains(TV show)?

Tim K.

 

[spdfile1]

No but great show!!!!

 

[kma371]

Are the EOT's on ALL trains? I live in California and I don't hear them on UP and BNSF trains.

For those of you who are really into railfanning to the extreme you already know about the EOT (End Of Train) freq.'s but for those of you not already famaliar they are an invaluable tool!!!! They are on 452.9375 (Locomotive) & 457.9375 (Last car on a train). It's not what you hear but when and how strong you hear it. What you hear is data chirps. But when you hear it you know a train is close by. It works like this. The loco frequency sends data such as air pressure, etc. to the rear of the train and vice-versa. The neat thing is that it is low-powered (around 5 watts) so you only hear activity when a train is close by. Depending on the trains speed, radio/antenna setup & terrain you have about a 5-20 min window before you are greeted. If you railfan Norfolk Southern you might want to also add 161.115 to your radio as it is also used as an EOT freq. These freq.'s along with any defect detectors (and even crossings nearby) are extremely valuable tools to a railfanner!!!! Have fun.

 

[spdfile1]

KMA371,

As far as I know all trains (with the exception of local's) have EOT's. I can't imagine UP out west is any different. I wouldn't put it past them but they may have a new & improved system, but I have never heard about it. Check for the red light blinking FRED on the rear of the next train you see and see if there is an antenna sticking up from it. That will be a good indication.

 

[dgoodnough]

It depends on the railroad. Some may use different frequencies. Norfolk southern uses or used to use 161.115 in the southern tier area of NY. They used to emit DTMF tones (Touch tones on phones) to transmit the info from the devices on the train. ROCHESTER AREA RAILROAD FREQUENCIES

 

[spdfile1]

dgoodnough,

Good point. I'm sure there is several methods used. When I lived up in Syracuse I mostly railfanned the CSX Water Level Route (Mohawk & Rochester Subs). Also made a few trips to Horseshoe Curve. Both places used the UHF freq.'s. NS also used the 161.115 on the Pittsburg East line thru the horseshoe and cresson,pa. And of course as you know none of them are good when your close to a railyard (lol). Like a needle in a haystack.

 

[dgoodnough]

Yes spdfile1,

Most are now on the uhf, as you stated, csx uses the freqs you stated at the start of this thread. I'm sure this is the most common way, but some of the older rr's initially used the aar 160-161 mhz band for this when the devices first came into use.
And yes, extreme trains was a great show!!! Wish they would put some news ones on the air!

 

[kma371]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A400 Safari/6531.22.7)

Ok well I hear them now. I figured it would be continued data but I only hear it once in a while. Is there a standard time it contacts or polls the other EOT, like every minute?

 

[kg6nlw]

KMA371,

Only happens when something changes between the head end and rear. I take the train down a notch, there goes a databurst to the EOT, I apply xx% of brake, there goes the EOT.

Other than that, every 2 minutes is a bleep from the EOT.

Lots of the UP and BNSF around California just use DPU's as EOT's now, unless they need to do an "EOT Move" to get say CSX's EOT back home, then you have a DPU (as needed) and an EOT.

Regards,

-Frank C.

 

[kma371]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A400 Safari/6531.22.7)

DPU = ?

 

[spdfile1]

DPU = Distributed Power Unit

It basically is a locomotive distributed either in the middle or end of a train. It assists the train as a whole with additional power. They are controlled via remote control from the head end unit.

 

[burner50]

KMA371,

As far as I know all trains (with the exception of local's) have EOT's. I can't imagine UP out west is any different. I wouldn't put it past them but they may have a new & improved system, but I have never heard about it. Check for the red light blinking FRED on the rear of the next train you see and see if there is an antenna sticking up from it. That will be a good indication.

Not all trains have EOT's, UP has been been using DP alot lately.

Even locals do use EOT's. Yard jobs generally do not.

 

[KF0SKV]

Not all trains have EOT's, UP has been been using DP alot lately.

Even locals do use EOT's. Yard jobs generally do not.

We do not use EOT's except for Unit grain/ethanol trains and the M-CBNC/NCCB (Council Bluffs-Nebraska Central) that UP hands off to us, and anytime NCRC is exercising trackage rights with UP/BNSF.

 

[burner50]

We do not use EOT's except for Unit grain/ethanol trains and the M-CBNC/NCCB (Council Bluffs-Nebraska Central) that UP hands off to us, and anytime NCRC is exercising trackage rights with UP/BNSF.

So you Dont run at night, over 4000 tons, or run over 30 mph on anything other than locals... On the other hand you must love walking to the rear every time you cut away to ensure brake pipe continuity.

Sounds like a boring trip every time.

 

[css9450]

I've not noticed NS using the 161.115 devices for several years, but its quite possible they may have some still in use.

As an aside, I wanted to mention I first heard these devices on my scanner down on the Florida East Coast RR back in the 80s - they were broadcast on the regular mainline road channel! That had to be annoying to the crews, beeping every minute or so...

 

[spdfile1]

I've not noticed NS using the 161.115 devices for several years, but its quite possible they may have some still in use.

As an aside, I wanted to mention I first heard these devices on my scanner down on the Florida East Coast RR back in the 80s - they were broadcast on the regular mainline road channel! That had to be annoying to the crews, beeping every minute or so...

css9450,
I railfanned horseshoe curve,cresson & altoona for several years and your right, I heard the uhf freq.'s used for eot purposes. I live in south florida now and fec runs right thru my city. I am so glad its not done over the main channel. It would drive me nuts!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Allan_Love_Jr]

I use to monitor them. Not anymore.

 

[css9450]

I use to monitor them. Not anymore.

I rarely listen to them either. The problem is, they rarely provide more than a very short notice that a train is approaching particularly if the train is very fast. Talking defect detectors are much more powerful and more useful.

I will, however, often monitor the EOT channels when paralleling a mainline where the view of the tracks is obscured by trees. More than once, I've nearly missed a train if it weren't for the tiny chirp of the EOT revealing they're hiding out there in the woods somewhere.

 

[chrismol1]

Talking defect detectors are much more powerful and more useful.

My favorite 5 mile advance notice

RING RING RING "DETECTOR MILEAGE FOUR SEVEN ZERO POINT THREE CHECKING NORTHWARD TRAIN"
"HAVE A SAFE DAY TRANSMISSION OVER.."
I love the robot voice