I ran into two UP police officers in Richmond, California yesterday and am almost certain they were carrying DMR HTs (Motorola SL300s). I see no mention of DMR usage in the forums and it doesn't really make sense, given the wide area they patrol (they said they were based in Roseville, and as we know they're dispatched from Omaha). Has anyone else seen this?
UPRR Police on DMR?
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SL300s work on analog, too. Just because they're carrying them doesn't necessarily mean they're using DMR.
I thought about that. I use them myself. But they're 2W in analog mode, and I would imagine railroad police might not always be within range of a base station.
Most railroad police I have seen carry PTT over Cellular devices, I live along the CN in Waukesha, WI and I have chatted a couple times with a CN railroad police officer and they usually communicate with there dispatch via PTT Cellular Speaker Mic, they also have a radio to communicate with trains and other agencies, a few years ago they were doing crossing gate enforcement and had several officers in the area and they were using AAR CH 73 161.205 in analog to talk to each other
I wonder whether what I saw was a Motorola WAVE, which resembles the SL300.
BigLebowski
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TLK-100's. Most large railroad police agencies in the US are migrating toward SmartConnect.
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I asked one of the railroad police in Jxn MS. I asked him what kind of radio and he said it wasn't my business
Awfully broad generalization.
Around here the CSX and NS police I've talked with use APX radios with VHF and 700/800 so they can communicate on both their assigned VHF channels as well as Ohio MARCS.
I wouldn't be surprised if they jumped to a model that includes SmartConnect, but they won't give up the VHF and MARCS capability.
BigLebowski
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Not really.. CSX is already using SmartConnect based off the Starcom21 as are several other railroad police agencies . Yes they have VHF access and yes they have state system access in many areas. NS is actually the ONLY one I haven’t seen doing anything SC-related.
Ok, then "most railroad police agencies in my area" would be a better statement for you to make. It's better not to make broad generalizations based on one specific area or region.
BigLebowski
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But this is a broad topic seeing as how Union Pacific is about to be a national operation.
See the Starcom21 database page: https://www.radioreference.com/db/sid/2324
BNSF - Clearly using SmartConnect based on the listed talkgroups pointing to national use.
CSX - Clearly using SmartConnect based on listed talkgroups, and personally confirmed by myself as used in the Southeast region.
NS - On Starcom21, but not using SmartConnect systemwide. I know this because here in NC they only have VHF.
UP - Apparently using WAVE with the TLK-100's in addition to legacy APX radios.
CPKC - Has talkgroups, unknown on SmartConnect
CN - Has talkgroups, unknown on SmartConnect
So 3 of the 6 (soon to be 5) class 1 railroads covering most of the US confirmed using a form of SmartConnect.
But you're still generalizing.... wildly. Starcom21 affects Illinois only; it is not a nationwide system, and it is definitely not a SmartConnect system, which uses 4G LTE (ie the cellular networks). And nowhere on the Starcom21 page can I find any mention of SmartConenct or LTE except in conjunction with BNSF, which says they use LTE when out of range of Starcom21. That's the only one. You're implying and assuming a great deal, but have no certain knowledge. I don't know how you're correlating talkgroups on Starcom21 to SmartConnect usage, because it just ain't there; just because they're using talkgroups on Starcom21 doesn't mean they're using SmartConnect.
Not holding my breath on the UP/NS merger; everything I've read points to a pretty slim chance at best of the STB approving it. The recent service meltdown on CPKC due to their IT migration failure (as well as past service meltdowns with other large mergers) probably lessened the chances of UP/NS going through. Time will tell, but I'll believe it when I see it.
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BigLebowski
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Well, anyone here can draw their own conclusions based upon the available information. I'm not here to argue whether they are or not, just that the technology exists and it is being used in one form or another. Maybe someone can give a definitive answer.
Golay
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Interesting comment. Are you saying the railroad police in your area are writing people for running crossing gates?
If so, first I've heard of such a thing.
Where the OP is geographically would help. In California, UP Police are dispatched by CHP on UHF and use vehicular repeaters. In Nebraska, Illinois, and Tennessee they operate on the state trunked systems and cellular. Etc, etc. Just depends on the region.
The UP purchase of NS more likely than not is going to get rammed through. The two STB members who would have stood in the way have been forced out, UP has the political capital and connections to pressure it, and with two of the Unions behind the sale now the labor argument doesn't carry as much weight for the opposition. We'll see....
The UP purchase of NS more likely than not is going to get rammed through. The two STB members who would have stood in the way have been forced out, UP has the political capital and connections to pressure it, and with two of the Unions behind the sale now the labor argument doesn't carry as much weight for the opposition. We'll see....
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