UP Train Symbols

[SA_tx_88116]

I want to know how I can find a trains symbol so I can find out where it’s headed and what it’s hauling but on the radio most trains identify themselves with their engine number. But sometimes I’ll hear LAU06 but I never hear any other symbols, So maybe I’m just not catching that part of the transmission. Any help is appreciated.

 

[sonm10]

UP Train Symbols - RailroadfanWiki

railroadfan.com

Appears train symbol you mentioned is a local that originates in Kirby, TX and destined for Harwood, TX.

 

[SA_tx_88116]

I know but how can I figure what symbol a train is using?

 

[RaleighGuy]

I know but how can I figure what symbol a train is using?

Most times symbols would be in dispatch logs and paperwork and not typically passed over the radio. There really wouldn't be any reason to pass it over the radio as the symbols are passed over electronic dispatch logs between dispatch centers so all they really need are the train number or identifier. This isn't always, but usually, it is like the police using MDTs in the patrol car to run license plates, you don't hear that in many areas.

 

[wa8pyr]

Most times symbols would be in dispatch logs and paperwork and not typically passed over the radio. There really wouldn't be any reason to pass it over the radio as the symbols are passed over electronic dispatch logs between dispatch centers so all they really need are the train number or identifier. This isn't always, but usually, it is like the police using MDTs in the patrol car to run license plates, you don't hear that in many areas.

Yeah, when I've seen a UP train rambling around they just throw out the engine number. Unlike NS and CSX (whose train symbols are fairly short and sweet), most of UPs are a mouthful and would take half an hour to rattle off on the radio.

 

[SA_tx_88116]

Ok so to figure where the trains I see are headed I just gotta play the guessing game and go off the list of symbols.

 

[wa8pyr]

Ok so to figure where the trains I see are headed I just gotta play the guessing game and go off the list of symbols.

That's about it. If they do happen to rattle off the symbol on the radio, you can use the list to figure out what train it is.

 

[AK9R]

I'm just gonna sit here and sulk because Conrail had the best train symbol system for manifest freights and locals. It gave us such gems as BUSY (Buffalo to Syracuse), COIN (Columbus to Indianapolis), ELSE (Elkhart to Selkirk), and many more. There were claims that CR copied their system from SP. But, CSX and NS threw it all away.

Oh, look, I'm off topic. Never mind.

 

[SA_tx_88116]

Thank y’all for the clarification I heard a couple symbols today, MSAEW, a manifest train, and some intermodal train that was headed to SAIT I forgot the symbol.

 

[AK9R]

MSAEW = Manifest, San Antonio to Englewood Yard in Houston according to the railfan wiki.

UP Train Symbols - RailroadfanWiki

railroadfan.com

 

[wa8pyr]

I'm just gonna sit here and sulk because Conrail had the best train symbol system for manifest freights and locals. It gave us such gems as BUSY (Buffalo to Syracuse), COIN (Columbus to Indianapolis), ELSE (Elkhart to Selkirk), and many more. There were claims that CR copied their system from SP. But, CSX and NS threw it all away.

Totally agree. I’ve tried to make sense of UP symbols and gotten lost every time. Fortunately there’s that online list referenced earlier.

More likely CR may have copied from ATSF. Theirs were similar to CR, even had a QLANY (and QNYLA) which were their hotshot pig trains run in conjunction with CR. SP symbols appear to have been as confusing as UP.

Oh, don’t forget COTO, CODI, COCL, COBU, COCI, COEL, COPI and a host of others. You could even subscribe (and I did) to Conrail’s freight schedule book, with a nice binder and monthly updates; I still have mine.

I miss Conrail.

 

[ratboy]

My long gone dog Gus and I spent a lot of hours in Holland and around the Toledo area watching CR. A lot of the train and yard guys knew Gus and would visit with him when they saw my car. Gus went a few months before Conrail did. I miss both of them: