Ultimate Railfan Vehicle

[WisconsinRailfan]

Good day Folks!

What would be your ultimate railfan vehicle? Make, year, model? What would you have in it? (scanners, gps, etc.) Special paint scheme? (C&NW colors etc.) If you already have yours, why not post a picture.

 

[BigLebowski]

2008 Ford Excursion - Solid Black

Radios:

Motorola XTL5000 VHF - O5 Head (Dual Radios for monitoring Railroads and Other)
Motorola XTL5000 VHF - O5 Head
Motorola XTL5000 UHF - O5 Head (not necessarily railfan-related)
Motorola XTL5000 800 - O5 Head (not necessarily railfan-related)
Motorola XTVA x 2 with VHF XTS5000R Portables
Motorola 900Mhz Data Radio (ATCS)
Uniden BCD996T Scanner (for the sake of having something frequency-agile)

All coupled to 1/4 wave black antennas NMO mounted on the roof, except for the XTL5000 dedicated to railroad monitoring, which would be coupled to a fender-mount black 5/8 wave whip.

Electronics:

- Mobile Computer monitor with touch screen at the head end of the radio console, which will have GPS mapping software and ATCS software on it. Also will have broadband internet card.

- Some type of basic siren and speaker for radio rebroadcast.

- Mobile charger for camera batteries.

- Box with current employee timetables and maps

That's all I can think of needing for railfanning really.... and that is what I would do if I had unlimited funds.

 

[krazyloader]

railroad engine for chasing trains

 

[khubbard]

2001 ford f150 crew cab. see my link to my truck below. i have a vertex vx6000 vhf and a vx4000 uhf doing dual band on one head. charger is for my vertex vx900 portable, which i have a vhf and uhf of each

 

[n2mdk]

A L Co 4-8-4

 

[DPD1]

I think one of these would do the job... Plus, you'd probably pass for a MoW vehicle.

http://www.unicatamericas.com/photos_international.html


Dave
www.DPDProductions.com
Makers of the "TrainTenna" Monitoring Antenna

 

[Tryton]

this is my bad boy! I just use my hand held and yell WOO WOO when im chasing em!

 

[n2mdk]

I prefer traveling in a little more style.

 

[evolocomotive]

Tahoe 4wd Forest Green
2 scanners up front (RR and ATCS)
Laptop
2 scanners in middle same as above
Laptop
and still have plenty of room in back for all our stuff!

 

[wwhitby]

My ultimate vehicle would be:

- An SUV or extended cab pickup. I don't need 4WD for where I go.
- Mobile scanner mounted in the vehicle and antenna for same.
- Handheld scanner or my MT1000 for when i'm out of the vehicle.
- 2M/70cm mobile radio with antenna
- CB and antenna
- Laptop mounted in the vehicle running ATCS Monitor.
- Inverter for laptop.
- Scanner tapped for ATCS Monitor, and gain antenna for that scanner.

Warren

 

[crayon]

And for those that need to get up close to railroad bridges in the water ..

http://www.terrawind.com/waterphoto.htm

oh yeah .. it's for real!

 

[N9JIG]

Good day Folks!

What would be your ultimate railfan vehicle? Make, year, model? What would you have in it? (scanners, gps, etc.) Special paint scheme? (C&NW colors etc.) If you already have yours, why not post a picture.

Remember the cardinal rule about 4WD: It lets you get stuck a lot further away from home!

I bought a few SUV's specifically to make railfanning more pleasant. The first (a Ford Bronco 2) turned into a total disaster but the best one was a Ford Expedition. Beyond the fact that it was huge, with plenty of room for gear, I had installed several radios in the center console, including a BC780, a BC796, a couple CDM1250's and a Kenwood Dual Bander. I even had a laptop mount and GPS receiver, this made finding obscure railheads easy, using StreetAtlas. In between I had a Ford Expedition that worked out well, but I had leased it and ran out of miles pretty quick.

I have also had a couple mini-vans and they worked even better for railfanning. Jim and I took many trips around the USA and Canada in one of my vans or the other. Taking out the rear seats and putting in a couple sleeping bags and air mats and we were just fine. Most of the time one would drive and the other sleep, especially at might driving thru northern Canada. The only problem with vans is that they were not very good off-road.

I currently drive a Honda Odyssey Touring Edition with the Nav system. Plenty of room and lots of creature comforts for my aging body. I have a full complement of radios so I can set one to the target's Road channel and use another for scanning/searching. I currently have a 996, BC15, BC796, a pair of CDM1250's for work and a Kenwood dualbander installed in the van. The wife likes the van, she sits in back and watches movies on the DVD when she gets bored otherwise there is a lot of room for her to nap, work on her crafts or read while we drive.

 

[DPD1]

Funny, I know many people (including myself) that have done 4WD in the past, but gave it up. Once you pay for the added feature, extra maint. fees, insurance and worse gas milage, then realize you actually use it maybe once a year... it's just not worth it. Clearance is really the biggest issue off-road. If you have that, you can do most of the stuff 4WD can do. Especially in a climate that doesn't get rain much. Unless you want to do rock climbing for fun or something, but then it would be worth it to just get a junker jeep that you don't have to worry about.

Dave
www.DPDProductions.com
Makers of the "TrainTenna" Monitoring Antenna

 

[K4DHR]

I usually grab the 99 TJ when railfanning. I don't feel as bad about making those dust-raising turns or cutting down a gravel road in that compared to our 2007 Mazda. Its also nice for the couple of railfan camping trips that I make every year.

If I'm just headed down to one of the local spots to watch stuff go by, I'll just take whatever my wife isn't driving.