Upcoming Rail Fan Event

Join Pittsburgh ham railfans for our fall adventure, aboard the Fayette Central Railroad, , on Saturday, September 26, 2009. Boarding is at 39 North Gallitan Avenue, Uniontown, PA 15401, phone 1-877-321-3277. Trains depart from station promptly at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Tickets are $15.00. children ages 3 to 12 are $10.00, children 2 and under are free. Craig, KB3KBH is suggesting that we meet at Blue Flame Restaurant on Saturday morning for breakfast and to caravan to Uniontown station, more information on the railfan net.

Current equipment operated by FCRR are Budd passenger railcar, with B & O markings that once serviced the Pittsburgh to McKeesport route, and Alco 52 with cabooses. The Budd car will soon be returned to the B & O Museum in Baltimore, MD.

Join us on the Pittsburgh Railfan Net, Thursdays, 9:30 PM on the 146.880, W3EXW repeater of the North Hills Amateur Radio Club.

de Bill / N3BPB

One person killed in train derailment

At least one person has been killed in a train derailment in Rockford Illinois. Here is a link to the print story and a few minuets of video shot by a civilian near the scene just after the crash.


Link to PRINT STORY.


Link to VIDEO of crash.

Rail traffic down considerabley

I attended a cook out over the Memorial Day holiday and two of the attendees were my niece and her husband who happens to be a conductor for Norfolk Southern Rail Road. He has worked for years on runs all over the state of Pennsylvania and in some cases beyond, so I was surprised when he told me that he had taken a job working in the rail yard. He said that it didn't pay quite as much but that he worked Monday through Friday and had his weekends off which has been a welcome change.

What surprised me even more was that he said that the entire industry is doing very poorly at the moment. He said that the downfall of Detroit and the auto industry has hurt the rail roads greatly. There apparently have been a large number of lay off's in the last several months and the volume of freight being moved by rail is down across the board.

I do most of my rail fan watching on the Conemaugh line a long stretch of which runs along the other side of the river from me. I haven't really noticed a drop off in traffic on that line unless I'm just not paying close enough attention. I have noticed that I am now seeing long strings of hoper cars that carry coal east bound coming back empty during daylight hours. For the last few years I have seen the full cars going east but never any empties so I asked about it and was told that the empties return during the night or very early morning hours. Have any of you noticed a drop in the number of trains you see in your normal travels? Drop me an email or leave a comment for the Rail Fan Net.

Lets Talk Trains

I got a link today via twitter for a web site that I had never heard of and it was a pleasant surprise. If the Pittsburgh Rail Fan Net leaves you wanting more I have a source of content for you. By going to Lets Talk Trains you can listen to over two hours of talk about all things related to railroads.

I have not had time to listen to an entire episode yet but I hope to do that latter this evening. If you get a chance check it out. I have a feeling that you will enjoy it also.

Interested in going for a REAL train ride?

The Skyview Radio Society had a multi club event last year that involved taking AMTRAK to the head quarters of the American Radio Relay League. It went over so well that they are doing it again this year. You DO NOT have to be a member of the club nor a licensed amateur radio operator to join in on this event so if you think you might be interested please check it out.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Other hobbies and interesting video

As most of you readers of this blog know I am also an amateur radio operator. I ran across a web site this evening that I think you will find interesting. This may entice you to cross over from rail fan to ham radio. Check it out and enjoy.

Pittsburgh Rail Fan net

I haven't posted this information for a while so I thought I would repeat it in case there any new comers to the blog.

Most of the rail fans I acquainted with have a scanner to listen in on the railroad frequencies. If you don't you are missing out on a fascinating aspect of the hobby. I know people who are not amateur radio operators that buy VHF 2-meter equipment just to listen in on the rail channels because they are much more sensitive and selective than consumer grade scanners.

I listen to 160.800 MHz on a regular basis which is the road frequency for Norfolk Southern and quite active just across the river from me. But I digress.

If you have a scanner you have the capability to listen in on the two meter amateur radio band where a number of operators, also called "Hams", get together and talk about a wide number of topics. One such group are avid rail fans and meet once a week to talk about just about anything that has steel wheels and rides on steel rails.

If you are a rail fan I think you would find the net interesting to listen in on and you can participate by sending email to the person who normally conducts the net. Here is how you can get involved.

Program your scanner to 146.880 and listen in at 09:30 PM on Thursday evenings. The net usually lasts about half an hour although I have known it to go on for an hour or longer if enough people check in and the topics discussed draw enough interest.

You can email Dennis, amateur call sign KB3HPC, by clicking on this link EMAIL DENNIS if you have questions or comments on the net. If you do mention that you heard about the net from the rail fan blog.