Does anyone know where I can get timetables for the Union Pacfic that are up to date? I want to start train watching but I dont want to sit for hours waiting for a train.
Thanks
Dan Larsen
I would check the classified ads here and in trains magazine.Depending what part of UP you are watching you won’t have to wait long.Just remember expect a train anywhere anytime.
stay safe
joe
what good would it do to have a time table. there is no trains in them there is no station times in them to run by. couse trains dont run on time tables any more in this country. they are all considered extras and dont have a schedual. so sit and wait.
Hi Dan,
Sorry to tellyou, but timetables are now nothing more than special instruction books, we dont run trains on a schedule or at regular times, almost all trains would fall into the “extra” catagory.
A timetable would tell you what to expect a train to do in a certain location, such as special instructions for movements across a bridge, or a interlocker.
If you can pony up the bucks, buy a hand held scanner, and look in Trains mag for the frequency used by UP in your area. Most trains do still run at about the same time every day, but not under time and track warrant or form 19 anymore, its almost all CTC now, and the dispatcher can stack em up one right after the other if need be.
Where are you going to be train watching, maybe someone out there has a good spot to tellyou about.
Stay Frosty,
Ed
thanks for all the info. I am new to train watching so I have a lot to catch up on. I will look into a scanner. How much do they usually cost. I live in Eugene Oregon. I know of good areas to watch but I arive and sit for like an hour until 2 or three trains drive by but I rather arive and watch then go in less than 30 mins. thanks agian
Dan Larsen
Your welcome,
I am in Houston, Texas, so I have no idea about how UP does things up there. I know if you shop around, you can pick up a motorola two way raido cheap, and trains mag always has adds in the back for scanners. Hit some pawn shops, heck, radio shack has some .
And welcome to train watching, as a railroader, all I ask you to do is stay on public property, and look, listen and live at crossings. Have fun.
Stay Frosty,
Ed
OK one question for ED. How can you fix a two way radio so I can get the train freq.? is there a way to change the freq.?
I will do my best to stay safe! I am just wanting to sit on my new deck and watch then go by.
Dan Larsen
2 way radios can be reprogramed or a chip is added depending on the age of the unit. and you dont drive a train . we run them.
I would suggest getting a regular scanner at Radio Shack which I assume is everywhere. There are books of railroad frequencies that you can buy at hobby shops but asking local railfans might help you zero in on the frequencies you need locally. I have a ten channel scanner which is OK for local use but when traveling I really should have about 100 channels to avoid constant reprogramming.
Cost? Sorry my scanner is 15 years old and cost $100 when new.
Dave Nelson
Dan,
If you would like to print out your own copies of UP timetables, go to their web site (www.uprr.com), click on General Public and go to the reference section. Click on Maps and you will find a map with all the UP subdivisions listed. If you click on Timetables, you can select the subdivisions you want.
As the other responses have indicated, this will not show you what trains are running, but it will help you understand the physical characteristics of the railroad.
Don Park
don.park@juno.com
Hey there Dan,
What we were issued when I signed on were motorola JT1000 two way raidos. They have a scan feature built in, and can also use DFTM, digital fernquency tone modulation, or a fancy way of saying, they have a way to set or tune the raido to any channel you want. If you happen to know what channel the UP uses in your area, you can just dial it in, say road channel 4040, which is what we and UP use down here as a yard channel, or 3232, road channel on the Lufkin sub division, so forth and so on.
If you put it in scan mode, it will pick up the strongest signal being broadcast, play that, and when the broadcast is over, it will go back to scanning.
I think Dave N replied he had purchased a scanner from Raido shack for around $100.00 a good while ago, that seems to be what I remember seeing them priced at last year. As for finding the correct frenquency, well, that is one of the pieces of information you will find in a timetable, what channel is used where, or you can look through old issues of trains mag, they used to include the raido frenquency in their articles.
Lucky you, a deck where you can watch trains from.
Stay Frosty,
Ed
Thank you all for you replys. I am off to by a scanner at radio shack and then off to my deck to watch some trains. Thanks agian.
Dan Larsen