Welcome back to my RailNut blog, week three! This week I will post some information about how to railfan (the equipment you’ll need), and as usual I will post the rail word of the day, my new quiz, and the answers to my previous quiz.

If you are a beginner railfanner, you might wonder what equipment you need, and what kind I recommend. Most camera companies sell cameras that are quite reasonable for railfanning. I personally suggest buying a rather small camera, instead of than a heavy-duty camera. When you’re trackside, you might have a dolly, a camera, and a camera bag (with extra batteries and SD-cards), so having a large camera can make it a lot harder to go over a bridge or under a tunnel to access another track. Back in the day, if you wanted even reasonable quality film for video, you had to use a very large and expensive camera. These days you can purchase a small camera with full high definition recording (which is what I have) for only $150 or so. Tripods can also be found used on eBay or Amazon for very low prices.

Some railfaners tend to go railfanning with just their cameras, with no tripod, dolly, extra batteries or even extra SD-cards. My book mentions when and when not to bring a tripod and other equipment. A dolly is also useful to wheel your camera and tripod around when there’s an overload of trains.

Another fun railfanning tool is called a scanner, basically a ham radio. This little device can pick up radio signals from the train crew, workers in the yards, and also dispatchers. I currently own a GRE PSR-700 which I find very useful in knowing the cause of delays (this information is from dispatchers and the engineer), when and where the trains are arriving, when they are departing and at what station, and just listing for fun. The only unfortunate thing is that railroad radios are only 5watts, which doesn’t give you much signal when you’re very far from the tracks. Some people use scanners to listen to emergency services, public safety and air-traffic-control. Also people like to get extra antennas to stick on top of their car or house to get much better reception. Railroad frequencies include 97 channels between 160 and 162 megahertz. I would recommend GRE scanners. They have stopped making them, but you can still buy used GRE scanners are great! A few suggestions are to make sure the scanner you purchase is analog, make sure it can access channels between 160 and 162m, and purchase a more powerful antenna.

Now that we’ve discussed the equipment you’ll need, lets go into the details on how to railfan. Preparation: Download my free eBook (see link in right-hand column) and choose which location you would like. Since only a few of my locations have directions, I recommend you go on Google maps and print out some directions (and, if you have a GPS, the address). Next I recommend checking the schedule for trains in your area, and read the description of the station in my book. Then, choose a time to go, when there’s a major overload, which is usually in the morning and evening rush hours. Or, if you can only go other times, choose commuter trains. These trains stop at most stations, which will double the film you get if it’s an Amtrak/Metrolink shared station.

Once you finished planning, you should consider getting to your destination by some means other than car. If your railfanning destination is San Diego (for example) and you live in Los Angeles, you can take Metrolink and Coaster or Amtrak to avoid the stress of driving.

However you go, when you arrive don’t waste time chilling out or eating at nearby restaurants without checking the schedule, because there could be an overload you might miss.  That happens to me all the time. I come, wait 30 minutes and no trains come so I leave. Then, right when we get in the car a train comes. Then, we go past a railroad crossing, and I see train headlights in both directions. Get the picture?

Anyway once you set up, check the schedule and set up your camera at least 10 minutes before any scheduled trains (tip, you can set up your camera and zoom in to see trains a lot farther than your eye can). You have to choose your trains. When railfanning, there might be four Metrolink trains coming in on one track and two Amtrak trains on the other. You have to choose which is more important, seeing those two special Amtrak trains, or the four Metrolink trains that will come all the time. Personally I prefer the Amtrak trains, but it’s always up to you.

Setting up your camera. When you set up your camera, the most important thing is that you tighten the knob to hold the camera very steady. As I always say, trains come in at high speed and they can wobble your camera, which usually ruins your viedo. Do not tighten the knob until your camera is in position. I suggest practicing following the train with your camera before its arrival, that way you know you’ll record it properly.

1.  Here are the answers to my previous train quiz: What trains does Fullerton station link together: Amtrak, Metrolink, BNSF and Southwest Chief

1.  How many tracks are located in Fullerton: 3

1.  What’s the final destination of Amtrak 572: San Diego

1.  What time is the departure of Coast Starlight train number 14? 10:10 AM

5. How many stops does the standard Amtrak Surfliner make from San Diego to Los Angeles? 9

6. How many platforms are located in Irvine? 2

7. What company owns the tracks from Camarillo to Seattle? Union Pacific

8. How many gallons does a standard train fuel tank carry? 2,200 gallons

9. What is Amtrak’s official name? National Railroad Passenger Cooperation

10. Name the stops the standard Amtrak Surfliner train makes from San Diego to Los Angeles: San Diego, Solana Beach, Oceanside, San Juan Capistrano, Irvine, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Fullerton and Los Angeles.

Here is this week’s quiz:

When did the first Amtrak train run?

What type of locomotive does Amtrak trains long-distance trains use?

List the order of the Superliner consist including locomotives and baggage car.

Name the two prime companies that own the majority of railroad property in the United States.

Name the four sleeping accommodations Amtrak offers.

Are café/lounge cars offered on non-long-distance trains?

Are full sit-down meals available on short-distance trains?

What type of locomotive is used on APS trains?

What freight company owns the tracks form Los Angeles to Chicago?

What is a side track?

How would a yardmaster or engineer know which P42DC locomotive was his since they all look alike?

True or false. Amtrak serves all states in the lower 48:

Answers to this quiz will be posted on Monday December 15

Suggested links:

http://store.sony.com/?XID=O:sony:dg_retail_gglsrch:e&adparam=sem73p1118581g-c&k_id=1a598511-e1f4-a608-9b8f-0000675b9baf&searchdef=2447599&k_clickid=1a598511-e1f4-a608-9b8f-0000675b9baf&affcode=1118581&002=2447599&006=33439303564&007=Search&008=&009=e&012=sony&021=18077287200&025=c&026= (Sony website)

http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras?gclid=CJ6v9d6RibsCFUho7Aodd2wAdg&cm_mmc=GA-_-CameraGroup-_-130913Brand%20Paid%20Search-_-canon%20cameras (Canon website)

http://www.greamerica.com (GRE scanners)

http://www.uniden.com (Uniden scanners)

Railroad word of the day: Middle ordinate. The distance measured from gage line of rail on a curve to the middle of a string drawn taut, and held to contact with gage line of rail at its ends. The middle ordinate is a convenient means to describe curvature, and is used in the adjustment of curves and the investigation of accidents. It is also a factor in bending rails to a desired curvature.

Thanks for reading railfaners more next Monday,

Skyler

Onboard the Rocky Mountaineer in Canada