First is the Coast Starlight's lead locomotive just after coming under the overpass. I don't know my locomotive types very well, so someone can perhaps fill me in on what this is.
Next is the same train a little farther along. Note the second locomotive is a Surfliner unit. This train has six coaches. They must be busy for the holiday weekend.
I heard on the scanner that another train might be coming along, so I waited. This short freight train came by about 15 minutes after the Starlight, on his way to Watsonville. The engineer blasted his horn just as I was about to snap my shutter, which made me jump a little.I was afraid it was going to come out with motion blur, but it didn't. He waved at me after I snapped the photo.
I was only expecting to get one good photo of the Starlight, but I think I hit the jackpot!
------------------
Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy
[This message has been edited by Mr. Toy (edited 02-17-2002).]
I thought those were very good Pics of both the CS and the freight train. I see thast this time you were able to check the batteries on your camera BEFORE getting set up to take the Photos.
I was just courious, how many miles away can you hear the CS on your scanner?
quote:
Originally posted by KA6BGJ:
I was just courious, how many miles away can you hear the CS on your scanner?
Good question. The first time I heard a transmission from the Starlight I was about 2-3 miles south of the Salinas Amtrak station, and the train was still somewhere north of Salinas. I'm guessing it was 5-10 miles away.
When I took these photos Saturday I first heard the engineer talking to the dispatcher when the train was around Watsonville, so it was 8-10 miles north of me.
But that doesn't really tell me the limits of my range, just how far away the train was. At home on the Monterey Peninsula I can easily hear dispatchers, but not the trains.
I've also heard the signal from the end of the train (I'm not sure what you call it). On the day I was south of Salinas I heard it about the same time I was able to see it's light about a mile down the tracks. That day I also heard it intermittently about 15 minutes before I saw the train. Saturday I heard that from the UP train in the above photo also at the same time I saw its light coming from Castroville. That suggests that signal is limited to line-of-sight. However, I never heard that signal from the Amtrak train Saturday, even as it passed right by me.
------------------
Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy
[This message has been edited by Mr. Toy (edited 02-18-2002).]
I have wanted to have a scanner for every recent train ride I have been on. Unfortunately, since I live far away from railroad tracks, I would rarely get to use a scanner if I had one.
How do you put pictures in the messages on this forum?
Dean
------------------
Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale)
www.geocities.com/evrr
As for the scanner, I think you can justify it if you remember that it will pick up everything from aviation to marine to police and fire traffic and just about anything else. Listen the police and fire at home, trains while traveling.
My scanner has several programmable groups. I programmed group 1 for my local airport, which is a little over a mile away, group 2 is trains, group 3 is marine, groups 5-9 are local police and fire agencies.
------------------
Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy
I will try your picture idea some time soon. I did like your pictures, but I also really appreciate your commentary that goes along with them.
You might have given me a good argument to use with my wife why I should buy a scanner. She thinks it is a waste of money. She also likes to run my model trains at a scale speed of about 200 miles per hour. Other that that, she's a good one.
Dean
------------------
Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale)
www.geocities.com/evrr
And its OK to let her run the trains fast. She may be running the only true high-speed trains in the western hemisphere!
------------------
Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy