ScannerDesk - VA3DBJ

Welcome to the big world of rail communications. Living right next to the CPR tracks in Bowmanville, I listen to the rail channels most of the time.They tend to be boring and routine, but the train crews and maintenance crews do make it worth while to listen.

Bowmanville has seen it's share of rail accidents and derailments in it's past, so it is nice to hear the status of the trains as they pass between Oshawa and Newtonville.

Canadian Pacific Railway - CPR

The Canadian Pacific Railway, known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited. Its rail network stretches from Vancouver to Montreal, and also serves major cities in the United States such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City. Its headquarters are in Calgary, Alberta.

The railway was originally built between eastern Canada and British Columbia between 1881 and 1885 (connecting with Ottawa Valley and Georgian Bay area lines built earlier), fulfilling a promise extended to British Columbia when it entered Confederation in 1871. It was Canada's first transcontinental railway. Now primarily a freight railway, the CPR was for decades the only practical means of long distance passenger transport in most regions of Canada, and was instrumental in the settlement and development of Western Canada. The CP company became one of the largest and most powerful in Canada, a position it held as late as 1975. Its primary passenger services were eliminated in 1986 after being assumed by VIA Rail Canada in 1978. A beaver was chosen as the railway's logo because it is one of the national symbols of Canada and represents the hardworking character of the company. The object of both praise and condemnation for over 120 years, the CPR remains an indisputable icon of Canadian nationalism.

Of the two rail lines that go through Bowmanville, CPR has the most interesting communications setup. They more or less have a two channel system for each subdivision, or a section of the subdivision.

The Trackside Radio System has radio base stations situated along the track to provide radio coverage over each territory, and consists of both a point-to-train system and a utility repeater system.

The point-to-train system is primarily used for communication between the RTC and train crews. Maintenance of way and supervisory personnel can also use the point-to-train system to call the RTC.

The utility system is used by maintenance and supervisory personnel to communicate with the RTC, the district office, and other console users. The utility repeater base station also provides extended range for mobile and hand-held radios.

Radio Usage for Train Crews - Point-to-Train System

The RTC will call the train crews on the train standby channel designated for the subdivision. Whenever another channel is used, ensure the radio is switched back to the train standby channel designated for the subdivision.

When the train crew needs to communicate with the RTC, they follow the following procedure:

• they switch to the RTC call-in channel designated for the subdivision Whenever another channel is used, ensure the radio is switched back to the train standby channel designated for the subdivision.
• they use the radio's keypad and enter the RTC call-in channel tower code of the nearest radio tower.
• they listen for two short beeps (this indicates that the call has reached the radio tower), followed by three rings indicating that the call has reached the RTC.
• then they switch their radio back to the train standby channel designated for the subdivision and then wait for the RTC to answer their call.

The following is for Emergency communications:

• they switch their radio to the RTC call-in channel designated for the subdivision.
• using their radio's keypad, enter 911N, where N is the first digit of the tower codes on that subdivision.
• they listen for two short beeps (this indicates the call has reached the radio tower), followed by two second continuous tone indicating that the call has reached the RTC.
• then they transmit "Emergency, Emergency, Emergency" on the RTC callin channel.
• then they switch back to the train standby channel designated for the subdivision and wait for the RTC to answer.

Radio Usage for Maintenance of Way and Supervisory Personnel

The RTC will call on the utility channel designated for the subdivision. Whenever another channel is used, they must ensure the radio is switched back to the utility channel designated for the subdivision. All local conversations should be conducted on the maintenance of way standby channel to keep the utility channel available for other uses.

To call the RTC, a console, use the extended repeater function or, make a telephone call:

• they switch to the utility channel designated for the subdivision.
• using their radio's keypad, they enter the utility channel tower code (including the *) of the nearest radio tower.
• (a) You should hear two short beeps, indicating they have reached the radio tower, followed by a dial tone.
  (b) If you hear two short beeps followed by a busy signal, this indicates that the line is busy. The will have to wait two minutes and then try again.
  (c) If you hear eight fast beeps, the radio tower is in failure mode.
  (d) If you do not hear two short beeps, or if you hear any tones other than described in 3a or 3b, they will have to try again.
• (a) To call the RTC assigned to the subdivision, they enter 919 on the keypad. You should hear two rings indicating their call has been placed in sequence with other calls made to the RTC. They will have to wait for the RTC to answer their call.
  (b) To call another console, enter the dial code, then on their keypad, they dial the console they want to call. Wait for the RTC or operator to answer.
  (c) when they want to use the extended repeater function, they enter the tower code (without the *) of the other radio tower they wish to connect. Listen for a short duration tone, indicating the other radio tower has connected, and then they commence their conversation. After they have finished their conversation, they MUST disconnect by entering # plus the three digits of the tower used.

System Radio Tones

OK (2 short beeps)................... call has reached radio tower
RINGBACK (3 short rings)............. call has reached RTC's console
EMERGENCY (2 sec. continuous)........ call has reached RTC's console
BUSY (busy signal)................... system is busy, try again
EXT RPTR CONNECT (1 sec. continuous). ext rptr is enabled for use
INVALID (9 short beeps).............. invalid destination called
CALL FAILED (hi-lo or bee-bop)....... radio site is inoperative
DIAL TONE (Dial tone)................ commence dialing

CPR Channel Assignments

In order to call RTC, trains must switch to the call-in channel, hit their PTT button on their radios five times in a second, wait for some answerback tones, and switch back to the Train Standby to wait for the dispatcher. The call-in frequencies are unique pairs to the train standby channels. It may appear that channels 3,6,8,9 are the same (160.425 MHz), until one realizes they are duplex channels, in that they have different input and output frequencies. The input frequencies in these channels are the different, but the output is the same as the Train Standby frequency in which they are associated with. You don't need to put the call-in frequencies into your scanner, you can hear everything that goes on just by listening to the Train Standby channel. All that goes on on the RTC call-in are beeps and clicks, so its not really worth the bother of entering them

CP 	AAR 	TX/RX MHz 	  Description    Notes
001 	91/91 	161.475/161.475   Train Standby  Toronto/Union area
002 	95/91 	161.535/161.475   RTC Call In
003 	21/91 	160.425/161.475   RCT Call In    Toronto/Union Area  
004 	67/67 	161.115/161.115   Train Standby  Belleville (196-210)
005 	81/81 	161.325/161.325   Train Standby 	
006 	21/81 	160.425/161.325   RTC Call In 	
007 	95/95 	161.535/161.535   Train Standby  Belleville (0-196)
008 	21/95 	160.425/161.535   RTC Call In    Belleville (0-196)
009 	21/67 	160.425/161.115   RTC Call In    Belleville (196-210)
010 	21/41 	160.425/160.725   RTC Call In
011 	49/49 	160.845/160.845   MoW
012 	15/49 	160.335/160.845   Utility
013 	71/71 	161.175/161.175   MoW            Belleville (196-210)
014 	15/71 	160.335/161.175   Utility        Belleville (196-210)
015 	09/49 	160.245/160.845   Utility 	
016 	77/77 	161.265/161.265   MoW 	         Belleville (0-196)
017 	09/77 	160.245/161.265   Utility        Belleville (0-196)
018 	35/71 	160.635/161.175   Utility
019 	93/93 	161.505/161.505   MoW
020 	35/93 	160.635/161.505   Utility
021 	33/77 	160.605/161.265   Utility
022 	33/93 	160.605/161.505   Utility 	
023 	09/93 	160.245/161.505   Utility 	
025 	21/66 	160.425/161.100   RTC Call In 	
059 	11/11 	160.275/160.275   South Relay    BC only
063 	17/17 	160.365/160.365   CN5            CN Liaison *1
076 	37/37 	160.665/160.665   CN4            CN Liaison *1
077 	39/39 	160.695/160.695   BC Rail        BC Only
078 	41/41 	160.725/160.725   Train Standby 	
082 	47/47 	160.815/160.815   Train Standby 	
085 	55/55 	160.935/160.935   CN3            CN Liaison *1
088 	61/61 	161.025/161.025   CN8            CN Liaison *1
092 	66/66 	161.100/161.100   Train Standby 	
095 	73/73 	161.205/161.205   CN2            CN Liaison *1
099 	83/83 	161.355/161.355   Yard 	
101 	87/87 	161.415/161.415   CN1            CN Liaison *1
145 	69/51 	161.145/160.875   Utility 	
157 	79/25 	161.295/160.485   CN6            CN Liaison *1
197 	98/98 	161.580/161.580   Train Standby 	
198 	95/98 	161.535/161.580   RTC Call In 	
201 	63/02 	161.055/159.810   CN7            CN Liaison *1

Above information is from the Canadian Pacific Radio Procedures.

Belleville Subdivision (#6517) runs from Smith Falls (MP 0) to Toronto Union Station (MP 211.5).

*1 Used where CP and CN tracks are 75 feet or less between outside rails of adjacent tracks. CN1 and CN3 are Primary and secondary channels.

Canadian National Railway - CNR

The Canadian National Railway is a Canadian Class I railway operated by the Canadian National Railway Company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec.

CN is the largest railway in Canada, in terms of both revenue and the physical size of its rail network and is currently Canada's only transcontinental railway company, spanning Canada from the Atlantic coast in Nova Scotia to the Pacific coast in British Columbia. It also has extensive trackage in the central United States along the Mississippi River valley from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.

The railway was referred to as the Canadian National Railways (CNR) between 1918 and 1960 and as Canadian National/Canadien National (CN) from 1960 to present.

CNR Channel Assignments

Unlike CP Rail, CN Rail's communications setup is a bit more structured.  The channels do not follow and shared format and are less duplicated as with the CP Rail.

CN 	AAR 	TX/RX MHz         Description
001 	87/87 	161.415/161.415   Mainline End-End 	
002 	73/73 	161.205/161.205   Dispatcher 	
003 	55/55 	160.935/160.935   Dispatcher (AI) 	
004 	37/37 	160.665/160.665   Dispatcher (YB) 	
005 	17/17 	160.365/160.365   Dispatcher 	
006 	79/25 	161.295/160.485   Dispatcher and Windsor Tunnel Standby
007 	63/02 	161.055/159.810   Dispatcher 	
008 	61/61 	161.025/161.025   Dispatcher (YA) 	
020 	45/45 	160.785/160.785   MoW 	
024 	53/53 	160.905/160.905   Maple Yard 	
081 	23/23 	160.455/160.455   MoW 	
082 	07/07 	160.215/160.215   MoW 	
083 	27/27 	160.515/160.515   MoW 	
084 	11/11 	160.275/160.275   MoW 	
085 	19/19 	160.395/160.395   Yard        (Maple Hump Yard)
	68/68 	161.130/161.130   Windsor Tunnel 
	39/39 	160.695/160.695   Yard        (Oshawa Yard)
	75/75 	161.235/161.235   CN Police

GO Transit

GO Transit is Canada's first, and Ontario's only, interregional public transit system, linking Toronto with the surrounding regions of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). We carry more than 50 million passengers a year in an extensive network of train and bus services that is one of North America’s premier transportation systems. Since we began operating in May 1967, over one billion people have taken the GO Train or the GO Bus. Officially known as the Greater Toronto Transit Authority (GTTA), GO Transit provides safe, convenient, and efficient transportation to the communities of the Toronto area.

GO has seven train lines which are Lakeshore West, Milton, Georgetown, Barrie, Richmond Hill, Stouffville, and Lakeshore East. At peak rush-hour periods, train service is available at all stations.

In weekday off-peak hours, trains run only on the Lakeshore between Oshawa in the east and Aldershot in the west, and on the Georgetown line between Union Station in the east and Bramalea in the northwest. On weekends, trains run only between Oshawa in the east and Aldershot in the west. Bus connections extend our Lakeshore service to Newcastle in the east and Hamilton in the west.

Below are the old GO Train dedicated frequencies. All operations have moved to the new GO Transit radio system.  The GO Transit security use the 10-4 Mike phones until the contact is up.  I have heard tech's testing the new system with HT's along the GO train service area.

419.4375	Willowbrook Yard
413.9375	Commuter Central tx
418.9375	Commuter Central rx

During rail operations, GO Trains use existing CN/CP frequencies for all communications. Click here for the new GO Transit radio system information.

American Association of Railroads - AAR

The American Association of Railroads has assigned channel numbers to each of 96 radio frequencies in the 160-161 Megahertz bands. These frequencies are used in the United States and Canada. Channels 7-96 are used in the U.S. for railroad operations. Channels 2-6 are used in Canada for rail operations only. In the U.S. channels 3-6 are used by railroads for truck operations.

The following table converts from AAR channel number to the appropriate radio frequency (MHz).

AAR	MHz	AAR	MHz	AAR	MHz	AAR	MHz
02	159.810	26	160.500	50	160.860	74	161.220
03	159.930	27	160.515	51	160.875	75	161.235
04	160.050	28	160.530	52	160.890	76	161.250
05	160.185	29	160.545	53	160.905	77	161.265
06	160.200	30	160.560	54	160.920	78	161.280
07	160.215	31	160.575	55	160.935	79	161.295
08	160.230	32	160.590	56	160.950	80	161.310
09	160.245	33	160.605	57	160.965	81	161.325
10	160.260	34	160.620	58	160.980	82	161.340
11	160.275	35	160.635	59	160.995	83	161.355
12	160.290	36	160.650	60	161.010	84	161.370
13	160.305	37	160.665	61	161.025	85	161.385
14	160.320	38	160.680	62	161.040	86	161.400
15	160.335	39	160.695	63	161.055	87	161.415
16	160.350	40	160.710	64	161.070	88	161.430
17	160.365	41	160.725	65	161.085	89	161.445
18	160.380	42	160.740	66	161.100	90	161.460
19	160.395	43	160.755	67	161.115	91	161.475
20	160.410	44	160.770	68	161.130	92	161.490
21	160.425	45	160.785	69	161.145	93	161.505
22	160.440	46	160.800	70	161.160	94	161.520
23	160.455	47	160.815	71	161.175	95	161.535
24	160.470	48	160.830	72	161.190	96	161.550
25	160.485	49	160.845	73	161.205	97	161.565

 

Railroads also use some frequencies to transmit end of train telemetry. Some EOT devices, for example, transmit the train's brake pressure to the closest tenth of a pound and whether the EOT is moving or not every 40 seconds or whenever there is a change. AAR has allocated 457.9375 MHz and 452.9375 for EOT telemetry with the latter used at the head end to transmit control signals.

Since EOT devices transmit at two watts, the transmission will travel about 3 to 5 miles. Thus, by setting your scanner to scan these EOT frequencies, you get a warning whenever a train approaches. The problem with this strategy, of course, is that as soon as your scanner picks up anything on 457.9375 or 452.9375, it will lock on that channel. Thus, this strategy works best if your scanner makes it easy to change the channels that are scanned so that you can stop scanning 457.9375/452.9375 when you know a train is close.

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