Railroad ops in Seattle-Tacoma region, UP & BNSF

[Boombox]

Hello all,
I used to monitor the Seattle / Tacoma UP & BNSF Railroad channels, their road channels, mainly, from 1989 to around 1993, when other interests got in the way of using my scanner. I used to be able to hear plenty of activity on just my Pro-34 off the rubber duck antenna that came with it -- from the same location where I am now.

Being that the UP crosses over the BNSF tracks just 6-8 miles from me, I used to hear a lot of traffic concerning the crossover -- UP trains, BN (at the time it was still BN) trains would get clearance to cross at Black River / Tukwila Jct. I also heard plenty of traffic from MOW and Signal Maintainers, which appeared to be track warrants, that were read back in full to the dispatcher. UP trains would call up the dispatcher periodically. The Valley local on the UP would also be getting clearance from time to time.

Fast forward to 2024. I've still got my Pro-34, and my Pro-2006, and activity is very spare. I still can hear some comms from what appear to be the BNSF Main tracks S of Seattle (through the Green River Valley), but they are few and far between. I'm certain the issue isn't my radios. They still work, and bring in a few other transmissions as clearly as they used to. The 2006 especially, being a better receiver, seems to bring in adequate comms on the Weather and Air bands.

But the Railroad channels are relatively dead when compared to 1993. Is this the narrowbanding of the FM making the transmissions weaker to 1980s-90s era scanners? Are trackwarrants no longer issued by voice on the UP and BNSF here in the Seattle-Tacoma area? Has a lot of the traffic gone online / laptop / cell system? I've queried the local scanner guys in the Washington forum, but thought I'd also try here being that it's Rail channel enthusiasts.

 

[wa8pyr]

But the Railroad channels are relatively dead when compared to 1993. Is this the narrowbanding of the FM making the transmissions weaker to 1980s-90s era scanners? Are trackwarrants no longer issued by voice on the UP and BNSF here in the Seattle-Tacoma area? Has a lot of the traffic gone online / laptop / cell system? I've queried the local scanner guys in the Washington forum, but thought I'd also try here being that it's Rail channel enthusiasts.

Got the same problem here.

PTC has led to quite a few changes. In many cases, track warrants are issued over PTC rather than verbally over the air. In addition, now that they have those jim-dandy track displays in the cab thanks to PTC, some railroads have discontinued calling signals. However, CSX has recently started answering defect detectors (like Conrail used to do), so it's kind of a trade-off.

In addition, I read recently that either UP or BNSF (I think it was UP) had begun programming their trackside defect detectors to remain silent unless a defect was found. I don't know how widespread that is yet.

 

[Boombox]

Got the same problem here.

PTC has led to quite a few changes. In many cases, track warrants are issued over PTC rather than verbally over the air. In addition, now that they have those jim-dandy track displays in the cab thanks to PTC, some railroads have discontinued calling signals. However, CSX has recently started answering defect detectors (like Conrail used to do), so it's kind of a trade-off.

In addition, I read recently that either UP or BNSF (I think it was UP) had begun programming their trackside defect detectors to remain silent unless a defect was found. I don't know how widespread that is yet.

I found a Defect Detector Locator site online and most of the Defect Detectors within 10-15 miles of me are set to transmit on 'defect only', although a couple that are farther away aren't.

Thanks for the input, however. I've heard about Positive Train Control, and maybe that's the culprit here. Railroad tech has obviously changed in the last 30 years. Glad I was able to enjoy it while it lasted....

 

[Boombox]

After reading up on Positive Train Control (PTC), which was implemented by the UP system wide after 2018, and probably implemented by BNSF during a similar time frame, I am certain that is why I am hearing so little on the Railroad Band. It used to be lively, now it's relatively dead. Sort of like 2 Meters... but that's another subject entirely.

The wiki article mentioned that the railroads use a lot of trackside antennas (and presumably Wifi and other transmitters), as well as GPS and other technologies -- including PTC radio equipment -- for the system to work. The possibly use of the 220 MHz band was also mentioned in connection with PTC. The RR Wiki on it also helps, with a list of frequencies. I'm sure it's just data noise though.

The PTC thing certainly seems like a massive undertaking.