Hey all i have came up with a idea of a site that i would like to make happen. Its going to be a site where BNSF railfans can post what power is in the area. I would like some feedback on this..
All you really need to do is start a thread on that topic here and everyone can post what they have seen recently.
Power!! A great thread idea! Here's what I saw on Marias Pass last month: Summit: Essex-based helpers, at Java East: The head end of the same train, at Java East:
Great idea to discuss the power you have seen and location. I don't see any reason why you can't bring that here from time to time. I am not a BNSF fan as I my loyalties are to the Santa Fe. History of course, so I check out the fallin-flags sites. But why not keep the SF part of BNSF alive and keep us up to date on what movements and power are trolling the rails. I'd say bring it here.
Guys im talking about a Tracer for the BNSF Power. like say BNSF 2401 is working the Okmulgee loco today. BNSF 2401 MP 470.0 AT Okmulgee Okla. 11/08/2006
Sounds like your asking for a dispatch program? A few TB members here have a ACTS monitor that lets us watch BNSF Power on the Aurora Sub, Aurora IL to Savanna IL. THarms got me started on it, you have to join a Yahoo groups to get the software, maybe THarms can tell you more as he is really into it.
Yea i have tried that but i cant figure out to work it or to get the BNSF Creek Or BNSF Cherokee sub to work
Count Me Out. Got you, as in I understand you. Heck if it was just pictures of units and etc that would be great. I'm not into tracing the power or tracking trains or taking down all the numbers of the train cars going by. I don't even care what train it is or where it's destination is. I just enjoy seeing the trains pass by. I'm sure there are resources that can help you with this. I wish you luck with it. Have fun and enjoy the hobby.
Well, you might want to join a Yahoo group called "Railspot", which does get contributions about motive power and trains for a region including Texas plus the surrounding immediate states. So for OK you could post "RS's" to your hearts content. I had a website that ultimately was going to be focused on D/FW region railroading and one of my primary goals was a tracking app that would facilitate just what you are speaking of. That was right before 9/11 and after that I felt that there might be some resistance to such a system so I never moved forward with it. This was prior to the widespread use of mobile web devices, but text paging/e-mail was available so my thought was have railfans in the field send an e-mail to my server, using their "ID" as the subject and the text of their "find" in the body. My server would parse it out and publish it to the web and there would be an ongoing log (blog) of trains in the area that people could check before going out to 'fan. Now of course the website could also be checked from mobile phones, and contributing could be done via web forms with drop downs for RR name, direction, etc. Still not sure the railroads and the DHS would be keen on a system showing "Amtrak 15 miles out heading east" or "Military Train on it's way" to the world, but maybe there's a way to do it safely.
But wouldn't you like to have a library full of historic ATSF information from 20 years ago with this type of info? I'm not trying to pick on you here, but I think that's what a lot of people lose sight of when downplaying modern railfanning. In twenty years modelers are going to be appreciative that the mass of information is being gathered. Casual railfanning is fun no doubt, but I do see a use for this type of tool from a "documenting history" perspective.
I do the same--I note the location, usually by memory, but not the train symbol, as if I had access to a lineup! I am in it for fun, and documenting a line. Doug makes a hard point here... Makes me rethink my current railfanning strategy...
Three big GEs have tonnage well in hand at Tobin, MT on MRL: 4 units at Cut Bank, MT are giving all they got:
Doug has an excellent point. I had no idea back in the early 1990's railfanning Conrail on the Boston and Albany that Big Blue would someday be a fallen flag. To me "Modern Railfanning" was BN, SF, IC, Conrail and even SP. Now look at how many are gone.
Go for it!! Doug and all thuned in, Yes, I occasionally take off to a roster list to see what locomotives Santa Fe was operating during a certain time frame. I would, I do, respect someone's efforts to collect this information so my grandaughter or my grandson could access the info...20 years down the road. It's just not my thing. I know there is a group of railfans that absolutely enjoy this. So...Go for it...with my blessing...if you need it. Grin! Also if there is a way to add such a forum here I would hope our overseers could find a way to add it. I think that's asking a-lot considering the computer programing and soft ware that would be needed. Just my two cents and I take change.
