Anyone know train schedule for Camden NJ, Norfolk Southern?

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dennis461

New Member
I am in Camden NJ on occasion and see some slow moving freight trains pulled by Norfolk Southern loco's. I'd like to catch one with my camcorder but do not want to wait hours for something to roll by. Anyone have an idea how often they go through?
 
Not to Hijack your thread. I cant help you there but I feel the same way about waiting by the tracks for a train to come by for pics. I was wondering if someone could post info on how to find schedules for any area of the country.
 
There are no publicly published schedules for freight trains. Most don't run on a schedule, though there are some exceptions, and a lot of jobs are called for roughly the same time every day.

So how do you find out when trains are coming? There are several options.
1) Learn the patterns of the railroad. In some cases they'll run a train about the same time every day. If you learn when that is, you can try and schedule accordingly.
2) Get a scanner. By far the most reliable method, and once you learn to understand what they're saying, you can tell what's moving where.
3) Use ATCS Monitor. This is a pretty complex system and suited only for the serious fan. You can read a bit more here: http://www.atcsmon.com/
 
Is there a recommended brand and type of scanner? My dad had one years ago and had to enter what channels he wanted to listen to. Do you need the RR channels? If so where do you get them?
 
I agree that a scanner is the best route. ATCS is complex, involved and requires special equipment. A scanner you just turn on and you're good to go. Also, ATCS doesn't work everywhere, and I seem to recall that it was getting locked out of more locations as they went to a different type of data transmission. But I can't recall the exact details.
 
Ima late on this one, but ... ATCSMon has has a huge majority railroad territories online. Some complete, some not so complete. It is simple to download and install on a windoz machine, then setup to monitor whatever territory happens to be in your location, or you can watch a territory from a great distance. Note that not all territories have been decoded or track layout done. If your territory is PTC, or on fiber you are out of luck.

The complexity comes in when you wish to 'serve' a territory. That takes a scanner with some sort of windoz host to send the code line to some server aggregator which then serves the territory.

I think atcsmon.com also has more information. The link above for 'groups.io/atcsmon gets you started. You need to be a member to download the atcsmon application. For those that are brave, you can 'tap' a scanner and use that for input to the atcsmon application running on your laptop. I usually take my scanner(s) and laptop with me when I get to get 'out of town' as the wife always wants to shop somewhere and watching/listening passes the time. If I happen to be next to the railroad, even better as camera is usually with also.

When I am out chasing trains in my area with scanner and laptop, the mountains and deep valleys limit what I receive, and I am lucky to receive two or three MCP's ( mobile control points ), but it still gives you a heads up when something is going to happen. If you happen to be a flat-lander, you should get MCP's for miles. PTC somewhat throws a wrench in to the works. I hear that decoding has been done, although no directions to do so has been posted ... yet
 
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Here is a website which lists railroad radio frequencies. It is a little cumbersome as you have to scroll down a long list to find the railroad you want.

The more expensive scanners have a lot of channels to enter different frequencies, but you will probably need just a few for any given area. You can always enter new frequencies if you change locations. When looking for a scanner, make sure it can pick up the frequency range used by the railroads.
 




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