New to Railfanning - Have Questions

RailfanDad Sep 27, 2022

  1. RailfanDad

    RailfanDad New Member

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    I am completely new to railfanning. My 12-year-old son just got me into it, but I am loving it. Obviously, he too is young and getting into it himself. We've got to a few locations, mostly in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
    This past weekend we were at the Rockville Bridge in Harrisburg/Maryville area. He has a few videos posted on his channel below.

    My question is, for the untrained eye, is there a place where he can go to find out the names/types of some of the trains? As you can see in his channel listed below, he titled a few of the videos with questions asking for assistance in finding the type of train. I'd like to be able to help point him in a better direction if possible.

    Please feel free to contact me if you have any helpful information or even respond on his clips if you know. Thank you for any assistance you can provide. Really looking forward to this new hobby.

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv8905DaqdWTHbX2fuK53Xg/videos
     
    gmorider, Hardcoaler and Kurt Moose like this.
  2. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

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    Hello!

    Welcome to Trainboard! I'm out here in Washington State, so not much in the way of help being so far away. Alot of members here can be of some help to you in your region I'm sure. Most of my learning has been at trackside with some friendly local railfans that have knowledge as well as the types of trains, the symbols and all. Being out there in the field and on sites like this, along with regular check-ins on some of the live video feed cameras available online have helped me to know railroading and what's all involved.

    It's definitely a learning curve, but a fun one and meeting people as well!
     
    Hardcoaler likes this.
  3. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    You might join a Facebook group in your area. By reading posts and jotting down the train numbers, you'll eventually get an idea of what trains run on what routes and when. If you're new at this aspect of the hobby, it might take a bit of time before things become clear. I live in the Carolinas and keep a Word document so that I can add/change/delete what I learn, and I carry it in my car. As @Kurt Moose noted, if you meet fans trackside, they are often very helpful.

    Too, you may wish to listen in on railroad radio, either by buying a scanner (for local listening only because of limited range) or listening to sources such as Broadcastify [ https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/stid/42/rail ].

    We have a handful TrainBoard members in your area that can perhaps also lend some information.
     
  4. Todd Hackett

    Todd Hackett TrainBoard Member

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    Ya picked a great hobby for you and your son!
    There could be something else that might interest ya. Called ATCS Monitor (atcsmon.com) which allow you to see trains in your area live on a dispatcher screen. There are some areas not covered, still ya might check it out. I use it to see what is coming my way before I go out and sit trackside. I only have one main through my area and sometimes it is not so busy; work windows and such. When I do go sit trackside, I take my laptop with it installed on that too. In my case there is minimal cell service so I also have a scanner attached to my laptop, then I can see the action for a few control points up/down the line. Have fun!
     
    BoxcabE50 likes this.
  5. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Todd, is ATCS usable only in signaled territory?
     
  6. Todd Hackett

    Todd Hackett TrainBoard Member

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    Boy, that I don't know. If there are control points in dark territory, maybe. You should be able to tell by seeing an antenna sticking up near the control point hutch. Usually a stacked dipole most of the time shaped like a "double U" with one U inverted on top of the other. PTC has the same type of antenna, but smaller as it is a higher freq. Note that PTC is encrypted so that cannot be used by ATCS. Of course fiber connections like what is East of The Fish can't be used either.

    Later
     
    Hardcoaler likes this.

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