East KY Railroads

[kas1263]

I've downloaded all the stations from the RR database for the railroads in eastern KY but hear nothing. Is it a quiet day or is there a special frequency I don't have. I have programed the channels into a BCD996P2 through FreeScan.

 

[chief21]

How close are you to the mainline tracks? Most RR radio communications are simplex and fairly range-limited.

 

[marksmith]

Some railroad frequencies are used for crew comms. They don't travel a lot further than the length of the train.

Also, the main dispatch channels are often not on band's coveted bu scanners any more.

Depends on the situation though. Short line railroads are often more scalable than roads like CSX, BNSF, or NS.

 

[kas1263]

I'm about 5 to 10 miles from the tracks and main yard plus there are a lot of hills and mountains.m

 

[wa8pyr]

Also, the main dispatch channels are often not on band's coveted bu scanners any more.

Incorrect. Road and dispatch channels are still in the railroad band 160.215 to 161.565 MHz. It just depends on where the OP is located as to what he'll hear.

In Eastern KY, it's very likely that there isn't a lot to listen to; there are CSX and NS main lines along the WV/KY border, and a CSX main line running from Cincinnati to Corbin to Knoxville which has a reasonable amount of traffic. Between those areas are a bunch of CSX (former L&N) branch lines which aren't too busy any more as they handle mostly coal traffic. And the NS main from Cincinnati to Lexington to Danville to Knoxville is quite busy.

However, with Eastern KY being really hilly, you would have to be in the right place to hear anything.

 

[chief21]

I'm about 5 to 10 miles from the tracks and main yard plus there are a lot of hills and mountains.

You might do better listening to the closest yard frequencies. Often (not always), yard operations use a repeater which might be easier for you to hear. Check the listings.

 

[JoshuaHufford]

What kind of antenna are you using? If it is just the built in antenna on the scanner you will be doing well to pick up a dispatcher, crews not very likely at all. If you want to listen to anything at that distance I would suggest a base antenna mounted as high as you can. Railroad communication is not always easy to receive.

I would suggest programming all of the main 97 AAR channels into the scanner and start scanning them, often times channels change or sometimes databases are not accurate. If your scanner has service banks the railband might already be programmed into it. Then once you know what channels are active in your area you can scan just those. It can still be fun to scan the entire railband when skip is happening, never know what you can pick up.

 

[wa8pyr]

You might do better listening to the closest yard frequencies. Often (not always), yard operations use a repeater which might be easier for you to hear. Check the listings.

Better yet, just set the scanner to search 160.215 to 161.565 MHz in 15 kHz steps. It's always possible that there's stuff out there which isn't in the database, so If anything is there to be heard that will probably be the best way to find it. Alternatively, as JoshuaHufford suggested, program the basic 97 AAR frequencies in a bank all by themselves and start scanning. The AAR channels are listed on the Nationwide page under Railroads.

The advantage to programming the individual frequencies is that you can put them in a bank using the corresponding AAR channel numbers, for example (using the first bank) channel 07 would be 160.215, channel 08 would be 160.230, channel 72 would be 161.190, and so on. This makes it very easy to recall a frequency quickly (if you hear someone say "go to 14" all you have to do is hit MAN 1 4 MAN and you're there).

If you're using a computer to program the radio either way will work, but if you're doing it by hand, the search method is probably a bit faster than entering 97 frequencies by hand.