Passenger Trains > radio frequencies

be going on a trip out west on the capitol limited and the cali zephyr, anyone have radio frequencies i need for my scanner to take along ?. thanks a bunch!!! http://www.danhudsonphoto.com/

Try this:

http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtrak-freqs.shtml

jb

On what dates? I'll be making that trip on April 10. :D

I have the freqs for the CZ from that site. Are there different freqs for on board crew?

I just returned on Sunday from the same trip (WAS-CHI on #29, CHI-EMY on #5). I asked the same question over in the "Railfan Electronics" discussion section. The folks over there helped out A LOT! Here's the link to the thread:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?9,1116154

Also, as #5 was travelling through most of Colorado and Utah, the frequency used was 160.920. This wasn't listed on the trainweb.com site or the on-track-online web site. I eventually found where they were talking by scanning through all of the channels and then locking it in.

If you want to know what type of food to expect on the Capitol Limited, I took photos of both the dinner and breakfast. Be prepared for some horrible food---very, very bad. I approached it with an open mind because of all of the comments here about it being just like the airlines, it's not microwaved, etc.... Well, those comments couldn't be further from the truth. There was an assistant superindent of food services for Amtrak on board the train to evalute the new food service. The man was a total waste of time and money as he did NOTHING to accurately report what was going on. He was quick to tell people how important he was, but when it came to actually doing the job that he was on board for, he fell very short of anything accepatable (from a passenger's viewpoint). I have the menu for both meals also---if you want to see pictures of the food or what's on the menu, send me an email through TO.

Andy

photoguy24141 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> be going on a trip out west on the capitol
> limited and the cali zephyr, anyone have radio
> frequencies i need for my scanner to take along ?.
> thanks a bunch!!!
> http://www.danhudsonphoto.com/

jdb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Try this:
>
> http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtrak-freqs.shtml
>
>
> jb


The frequencies at this web site for the California Zephyr were accurate at the end of February -- at least between Dotsero and Emeryville, when I had my scanner turned on. When traveling across Nevada, "Track 1" is typically used for westbound trains and "Track 2" for eastbound trains. Alazon is 4 miles west of Wells. Weso is 3 miles east of Winnemucca. Most of the Nevada detectors report axle count, train speed, and ambient temperature. The Colorado detectors west of Dotsero typically report axle count and ambient temperature. The Utah detectors report axle count, and about half also report ambient temperature. The California detectors east of Roseville report axle count, train speed and ambient temperature. Those west of Roseville tend to omit ambient temperature.

Hey, JDB...

Are the assigning seats on the Capitol at WAS on the Zephyr at CHI? Just wondering

Thanks,
Eric

http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtrak-freqs.shtml

Note at the top of this site is a CORRECTIONS REQUESTED. I've been using the frequencies given here for years and when I come across something that may not be accurate, or an addition, I drop him a line. I don't believe that he can travel all the routes every month to see about any changes and he relies on the people that use the info to give him the corrections or additions. (I also believe that the railroads watch this and purposely change as soon as he gets it in print just to mess him up <G>)

As mentioned you can carry a list of all the freqencies. On the above site at the left hand side is "SCANNERS." Click on it. Then in the middle of the page, click on "ARR CHANNEL NUMBERING SYSTEM." Print that out and take it with you.

I too believe the crews could switch channels when the time comes even if they were blindfolded. Sometimes they say "Are you ready to switch?" If that is all they say you don't have a clue what they are going to. Sometimes you will hear a response or sometimes only a "click-click" on the scanner. If they say go to 32's" then you can look at the ARR list and get the frequency. If you are wandering around the train and you hear a crew members radio going off and you don't hear anything on your scanner, politely ask them what channel they are using. It's almost guaranteed that they won't know the frequency (unless they are a railfan) but they DO know the ARR channel number and will probably tell you something like "96's." Then you can look at your ARR list that you printed out and get the frequency. Once in a while you will get a "I can't give you that information because of homeland security. GO AWAY!" That is very, very rare. Just say "Thank you" and go away. Then see if you can strike up a conversation with another crew member.

I don't worry about where they change the frequencies. I program all the frequencies for a train in one bank of the scanner and scan all of them for the whole trip. I use a different bank for the next train. Maybe I've had the scanner off while I had dinner and missed a change. If I'm scanning all of them I don't worry.

I print out the AAR Channel list and frequency list for all the trains in the smallest print that I can on my printer. Then I cut them out and tape them on the last page of the small notebook that I carry for the trip. You could also tape them to your ticket envelope, or the last page of your Altamont Press timetable.

Something else I have heard is "Go to the Yard." In this case they want to talk with each other and not have somebody else listening in. What channel is that? Well, here they are a hundred miles away from the terminal where a yard channel is used but they still have it programmed in their radios. You need to know what the yard is. In the case of the Coast Starlight the above site gives the channels that are used by station personnel and yard channels. Scan all the frequencies used by that train and you will pick up what "the yard" is.

Carry a short extension cord with you. I can't fit my scanner charger in the outlet of the Superliner sleepers. Also, if you should be travelling coach, the cord would let you use an outlet that is a couple of seats away.

jb

shtinkypuppie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey, JDB...
>
> Are the assigning seats on the Capitol at WAS on
> the Zephyr at CHI? Just wondering
>
> Thanks,
> Eric

I haven't done that route recently and I've always had a sleeper. So, no help for you here. Sorry.

jb

jdb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtrak-freqs.shtml
>
>
> Note at the top of this site is a CORRECTIONS
> REQUESTED. I've been using the frequencies given
> here for years and when I come across something
> that may not be accurate, or an addition, I drop
> him a line.

I was going to let them know, however, I'm not as knowledgeable as some people are regarding what happens at which milepost, what track number a train is on, where detectors are, etc....I couldn't give a beginning or ending point for the new frequency if my life depended on it----I just know what frequency they were on for most of Colorado and Utah. Sorry about that--

Andy