Railfan Arrested

[texasemt13]

Unless you work for the railroad and are at work why would you or why do you have a radio that will transmit out of band?

What about public safety radios that transmit from 136-174MHz in the VHF-Hi range? They are legal for amateurs to own and they can transmit on many different bands, including the federal governemnt band, the public safety band and the railroad band, as well as the amateur band.

 

[midstate33]

Warren

Very amusing Warren your wit never ceases to amaze me....or something ......W8WAR

 

[kb2vxa]

Definitely "or something". You see, there is this correlation between me and where you live if you read the tag below my sig line.... something in the air and it's not RF. (;->)

 

[burner50]

a person on the tracks overrules any radio laws!

No it doesnt... However, you're free to advise them to move, call 911, call the railroad (In my experience on UP, RMCC is VERY fast to get things slowed down when there is a report of a trespasser), or allow the train crew to handle it with the bright lights and loud whistle.


If you're on my frequency screaming about somebody on the tracks and you dont know exactly where you are, then you're not helping anybody.


And this horse has been dead for so long, you're kicking around empty glue bottles.

 

[joekansas]

In my experience on UP, RMCC is VERY fast to get things slowed down when there is a report of a trespasser.

Wrong~ I about hit a big 2 ton commercial truck carrying compressed gas cylinders at a county road crossing one day. After he cuts in front of us, he hangs a left and travels on down the highway we are paralleling- going the same direction.

I just happened to have their (RMCC) phone number in my phone, and dialed it. Didn't bother with ringing the dispatcher. Thought I'd go right to the top of the pile.

I am all excited and proceed to tell her we just about T-boned this ignernt mortar forker at the grade crossing. She is non-chalant and has me go thru all this spiel about my employee number, what milepost we are at, blah blah blah....

I say "Listen, this is the company name on the side of the truck doors, the town named on the door, and it is a big red truck with lots of gas cylinders in the back, he is right beside me going down the highway heading for this certain town which the tracks go right thru, so call the frickin cops up there at the town he is headed for and have them stop him.

She says "OK, I will let the proper authorities know" and I'm thinkin nothing is going to happen. Well, we travel on down the pike a bit and 5 miles later we are going thru this little town, and there is that big red truck pulled in at the little gas station-right on the highway- and the guy is getting out going in the front door.

I call RMCC back- get a different girl, don't ya know- explain myself all over again- and tell her that the offender is stopped right there in that town- has the other gal gotten the cops lined up to catch this guy...... If they hurry they can catch him before he leaves. "Well, I have your information and I will get it to the proper people and get something going" is what she tells me.

So, I tell her to call me back with any news, cause I figure I may have to sign some statement or something to that effect.

My trip along the highway ends in about 10 miles from that little town, where the track veers off into a power plant where I am going to unload coal. That also happens to be the intersection of the tracks, and 2 major highways, and after that the highway heads on into a big city.

So, I've got the air set to slow my train down, coasting down the main line ready to pull into the power plant loop at 5 mph, when what do I spot rolling down the highway alongside me but that big red truck. I get right back on the cell phone and crank up RMCC and excitedly yell at this fool that this offender is pulling right along next to me on the highway, headed thru this town which has loads of cops always out radaring the busy stretch of highway, and this is their last chance to nab him before he gets into the next metropolis 40 miles down the pike. Same reply~ we're trying.

I waited an hour after all this and called them back to see if they ever got a report of anyone catching that guy. No.........What a waste of time. They are too disconnected from us out here to do any good.

I have all the cops and sheriffs office phone numbers for all the citys and countys I travel thru written down for just this reason. I don't bother with RMCC= I just call the cops myself.

The worst part of calling the cops yourself is trying to explain where you are, exactly, when you are reporting something. Mileposts mean nothing to them!
===================================================================================================
Here is a PS I just remembered about this: When I got home from that trip, I got on the internet and googled the company name that was painted on the truck, and FOUND IT. They do oil well servicing. It was in the correct town, so I called the phone number listed there on their site. I messed up and when I first asked them questions, I prefaced them with the story I wrote above, about the near miss, and that they ought have a word with that yokel and ream him out. Office girl gets all defensive, then proceeds to tell me that they don't have any trucks up in that part of the country.

I repond with "You are a frickin liar- I about hit this clod in one of your trucks, and if he had been a little slower I would have paint chips off your truck to mail to you too prove it!" That got me no where, but a little satisfaction in knowing that someone more than likely got their ass chewed.

 

[burner50]

Nothing like telling a story that has nothing to do with the context of the thread or my own comment...

 

[joekansas]

Nothing like telling a story that has nothing to do with the context of the thread or my own comment...

I quoted right out of your post- your comment has nothing to do with the thread? You claim that in your own experience RMCC is quick on the trigger~ I say you are F.O.S. ~ How about that? My story about me calling to report a near miss~ a trespasser- and over the course of about 30 minutes they bumble along and get nothing done is in direct response to your statement that they are fast to get things slowed down in response to blah blah blah......

My post may have nothing to do with the guys post of a report of someone getting arrested for transmitting where he doesn't belong- agreed- but neither did your post #44. I also plead guilty to a long winded post. Who else (but you) has their panties in a bunch about it and doesnt' want to read stuff like that? I'd venture to say that 99% of the others reading this aren't railroad employees, but are railfans, and may just happen to enjoy reading about life on the railroad and all the stuff they'd otherwise never get wind of~ thus they scan the railroad frequencies.

To get this back on track~ I work for the RR. One day I was downtown at my machine shop, which is a block from the mainline, and an outbound train had what sounded like a sticking brake as it rolled by. I could hear it squealing. I had my HT1000 in the car, but I didn't call the crew on the radio to tell them, I called the dispatcher (via telephone) in Omaha and let them know. Then, I listened on the radio as he got right on the radio and had them stop and the conductor went back and released it. If I'd have called them on the radio myself, they may have ignored the report cause the conductor is too lazy to walk back and let the brake off, but they can't ignore the dispatcher.

 

[rdale]

Do you know what most police officers consider the "BOL for wreckless driver" dispatches to be?

A waste of breath and airtime. Don't compare that to trespassing on RR property.

 

[joekansas]

Do you know what most police officers consider the "BOL for wreckless driver" dispatches to be?

A waste of breath and airtime. Don't compare that to trespassing on RR property.

Whatever........... If they go around the gates in front of me, or are in the crossing when I am going to be there, they are tresspassing- in a fashion. I rule, they don't.
The big picture is~ I am just irritated at the railroad for not getting after it fast enough. I am basically on the phone with them giving them the play by play and what color shirt the guy has on [basically] and I see no reason they couldn't have had the local yokels on the horn as I was relaying all this info to them and they could have converged on him PDQ.

Took me a minute to figure out what your abbreviation stood for. You must've meant B.O.L.O. for "reckless" drivers. I am a wreckless driver, by the way. Not one have I had for more than 30 years!

 

[rdale]

I am just irritated at the railroad for not getting after it fast enough.

They may have. I'm saying that a PD report of somebody cutting across the gates means nothing. If the cop didn't see it, it didn't happen.

 

[burner50]

I quoted right out of your post- your comment has nothing to do with the thread? You claim that in your own experience RMCC is quick on the trigger~ I say you are F.O.S. ~ How about that? My story about me calling to report a near miss~ a trespasser- and over the course of about 30 minutes they bumble along and get nothing done is in direct response to your statement that they are fast to get things slowed down in response to blah blah blah......

uhhhh.... Okay....

The topic of the thread has to do with somebody transmitting on RR frequencies and when some people believe that it may be appropriate.

I said that it was never appropriate, and when somebody calls RMCC they are fast to get traffic stopped. I do not care what happened when you tried to call them about somebody who ran the gates. Apparently, you dont understand many aspects of police work. RMCC probably called the local officials and relayed the info, but I highly doubt there were any special agents in the area... Lack of response by the local authorities has nothing to do with RMCC, nor does it have anything to do with THIS THREAD or my comment.

I work for the RR.

Would you like a cookie? I do too.

One day I was downtown at my machine shop, which is a block from the mainline, and an outbound train had what sounded like a sticking brake as it rolled by. I could hear it squealing. I had my HT1000 in the car, but I didn't call the crew on the radio to tell them, I called the dispatcher (via telephone) in Omaha and let them know. Then, I listened on the radio as he got right on the radio and had them stop and the conductor went back and released it.

Should I call your superintendent? Maybe they'll put your name in you service unit newsletter!

If I'd have called them on the radio myself, they may have ignored the report cause the conductor is too lazy to walk back and let the brake off, but they can't ignore the dispatcher.

You must work with some real winners then... Maybe we crew change at the same place, cause I can think of a large pool that acts like that.

*Ahem*RT81*Ahem*

Anyway, I wouldnt advise telling any other mods that they are "F. O. S." here... it generally doesnt go over very well.

 

[joekansas]

Why, yes I would like a cookie, thanks! Oatmeal if you have them.

Yes, I work with normal railroaders.... lazy.

I spoke to the division superintendent in person 2 weeks ago and relayed that whole story about the RMCC fiasco and he was very interested and took copius notes. He may have just tossed them in the trash as soon as I left the room. Whether anything comes of that~ I don't know. But, at least I got it off my chest.

As far as you being the moderator, good on ya. If there is no room for thread drift, delete offending posts or block the thread. I belong to another forum where that common. You start out talking about one subject and twenty posts later it turns into a whole other animal. Such is life~ but it makes for interesting reading.., which is why I am here...... to read. Not to get my panties in a bunch about non-issues.

A hundred years from now no one will even be aware that these electrons have been wasted hashing back and forth about me not jumping on the dog pile condemning some wanna-be wanting to use his two-way to talk to train crews.

How about we call the FCC on every dad who has his walkie talkie in his grip and his 4 year old gets it out and manages to turn it on and gets on the air and hollers for his daddy!!!

I'll quit now....... sorry.

 

[burner50]

As far as you being the moderator, good on ya. If there is no room for thread drift, delete offending posts or block the thread. I belong to another forum where that common. You start out talking about one subject and twenty posts later it turns into a whole other animal. Such is life~ but it makes for interesting reading.., which is why I am here...... to read. Not to get my panties in a bunch about non-issues.

Performing such actions REALLY gets people in a huff, so I avoid it whenever possible... (You should see some of my hate mail).

I tend to let the crew run wild in here :lol: and i'm the only one that frequents the area unless posts get reported. The railroad forum regulars do pretty well at policing themselves.

How about we call the FCC on every dad who has his walkie talkie in his grip and his 4 year old gets it out and manages to turn it on and gets on the air and hollers for his daddy!!!

It wouldnt be the first time... I've heard of guys getting a level 2 under some 'catch all' rule that they have built into the GCOR if they find out who it was... However, I doubt the FCC would be very likely to prosecute a 4 year old... A railfan that knows no boundaries? Most certainly.

Some people should just know better.

Some say the story is a hoax... and I tend to think it IS a hoax, as the RR's generally arent too responsive about people hopping on their frequency, but will eventually crack down. If you're interfering, prepare for the black SUV's

Having a chit chat with the crews is a big no-no.

As I said before, there is far better ways to handle a situation where there is somebody stuck on the tracks. Maybe in a Dense fog and cell phones are down, the power is out, and you HEAR a train coming.... but by then, its more than likely too late.

I remember one particular winter, I was in a double stack moving 70 MPH in ATC Territory. Saw the AA and took an immediate 20lbs... Went by the AA, into supression we go. PCS open too. Still moving 57 past the approach, and barely got her stopped by the absolute. These blocks were 2 miles each. From the time we saw the AA, to the time we stopped was just shy of 6 miles. This was also using "Good Train Handling"... dumping it may have got it stopped faster.

Anyways.... Best bet it to just call the railroad on the phone, forget trying to radio the crew. Perhaps you didnt get the GO that came out a few days beforehand about the frequency change... Maybe your HT wont reach the train... Just contact the railroad instead of attempting to reach the crew.

 

[MFD4305]

Yikes!

Whoa - a reasoned, logical response from someone who actually does the job and so knows first-hand what he's talking about! What's this Forum coming to??
Besides - my dog's better than your dog!

 

[SCPD]

hi all...
i happen to have work for a railroad for over 31 years...and if it IS possible to be
able to transmit on a RR freq....please please do not...railroading is very dangerous
operation...crews are coupleing cars together and need to be able to hear the
communication between conductor and engineer for safety sake....if the engineer
can not hear the conductor when making a coupling then he does not know how far
it is until the couple is made....if unable to slow to make a proper couple then this could
result in a violent collision...even if 10 MPH...all sorts of things can happen...could cause
a dangerous loaded tank to leak or explode...cause a car(s) to come off tracks and tip
over...crushing the conductor.....so please refrain if indeed it is possible to transmit...
thanks

 

[karldotcom]

heck, you can be arrested for not having health insurance too!

 

[kb2vxa]

As long as this thread is having its lighter momenta aw what the heck. Distracted drivers we don't need, you can cause the engineer to make a wrong turn... OOPS!

There is a serious side as has been frequently mentioned and it doesn't have to involve the cab radio. Think a moment and remember some months back when an LA Metra engineer was distracted talking to a railfan on a cell phone, overran a signal and plowed into the rear of another train! Think of what railroaders have do deal with in the course of their jobs on a daily basis, at times it can be like tap dancing in a minefield while juggling hand grenades.

Safety first you foamers, watch from a safe distance and above all stay out of their hair!

 

[w2smw]

I think this topic has been miled to death. The moderator of this board should lock this thread and we should worh on something new. It is tireing to see the same stuff over and over again it is starting to look like verborhea

 

[burner50]

Think a moment and remember some months back when an LA Metra engineer was distracted talking to a railfan on a cell phone, overran a signal and plowed into the rear of another train! Think of what railroaders have do deal with in the course of their jobs on a daily basis, at times it can be like tap dancing in a minefield while juggling hand grenades.

Are you talking about Chatsworth Metrolink back in Sept 2008?


I've got another theory on that one for when my tin-foil hat gets a little tight...

Here is the thing....There is not one single thing that is inherently difficult when working on the railroad. Everything is actually quite easy.

The difficult part comes when the crew is trying to do 100 easy things at the same time.

Reading signals, monitoring the radio, catching the detector messages, keeping an eye on the train, understanding where your authority ends, keeping track on the guys ahead of you, what did that detector say again? Keeping the paperwork in order, keeping track of permanent speed restrictions, keeping track of TEMPORARY speed restrictions, whats the difference between speed restriction and restricted speed again? Keeping track of where you train is on the terrain, watching out for weed weasels, Does it look like that tractor sees us? I wonder if he'll even stop! remembering when and where to whistle...etc...


This is all happening while traveling 70 MPH down the tracks.


(All questions above are rhetorical, do not answer them)

 

[kb2vxa]

"Are you talking about Chatsworth Metrolink back in Sept 2008?"
Not sure exactly, memory is a bit foggy. Either the one that involved BNSF or another with Amtrak but either way I made my point.

"The difficult part comes when the crew is trying to do 100 easy things at the same time."
That's the bit about hand grenades and mines.

Anyway thanks for letting me reply before locking the thread which may not be such a bad idea, we all had our say and it's time to move on.