Erie West Subdivision Road & Dispatcher channels?

I know that CSX has been changing the former Conrail territories to match their standard separate road and dispatcher channel arrangement.

Does the Erie West Sub still use 160.860 for both road and dispatcher comms or has a second frequency been designated for dispatcher use?

I am trying to update the info on this page:
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=3166

The "road channel" for Lake Shore, Erie West, Cleveland Terminal and Greenwich remains AAR 50. The "Dispatcher Channel" varies...Lake Shore it's AAR 82; Erie West it's AAR 94; Cleveland Terminal it's AAR 46 and Greenwich it's AAR 25.

The differences between "road" and "dispatcher" channels are somewhat blurred out there - both because of unfamiliarity of both dispatchers and crews; and because the busy nature of traffic there doesn't conveniently or safely lead to switching channels for vital information. So there's as likely to be an EC-1 given over the road channel as the dispatcher's channels.

conrail_engineer wrote:The "road channel" for Lake Shore, Erie West, Cleveland Terminal and Greenwich remains AAR 50. The "Dispatcher Channel" varies...Lake Shore it's AAR 82; Erie West it's AAR 94; Cleveland Terminal it's AAR 46 and Greenwich it's AAR 25.

The differences between "road" and "dispatcher" channels are somewhat blurred out there - both because of unfamiliarity of both dispatchers and crews; and because the busy nature of traffic there doesn't conveniently or safely lead to switching channels for vital information. So there's as likely to be an EC-1 given over the road channel as the dispatcher's channels.

Thanks for the quick response! Honestly, I've always thought the practice of changing channels to talk to a dispatcher while out on the mainline seemd like a potential safety hazard. What the heck do I know, though? I guess CSX isn't the only railroad that operates that way.

It IS a safety hazard; it HAS been reported as such, with close-call incidents as proof; and CSX IS a top-down-communications-only bureaucracy.

They are gonna do it their way because it's their way and they don't wanna hear any discussion about it! And if people get hurt or killed...there's always some way to slough off blame to some employee or another...

I've taken to carrying a radio receiver with me...when we change channels, I want to have some way of hearing what's going on around me.

Only yesterday our train missed the report from the Springfield Defect Detector due to dispatcher chatter, requiring 30 mph to the Erie detector. On the other hand, we have miscalculated and missed the report by being over on the dispatcher's channel for some reason.

And I think it has been mentioned somewhere here that there was a derailment of a Haz-Mat tank car near Cleveland due to a missed defect report because the crew was taking an EC-1 on the DISPR's channel.

As I understand it, the next generation of defect detectors only report when a defect has been found, otherwise it is silent.

The Buffalo&Pittsburgh's DEDs are set up that way, but you still won't hear it if it does activate if you're not on the right channel. Right? The only sure fire way would be 2 radios, or a radio that can monitor 2 channels and play the audio simultaneously. Quick fix til then (I'm guessing never by corperate RR) would be a scanner like conrail mentioned, but why should it be up to you guys to do that?

What's the feasibility of having a crew member leave a portable radio on the road channel when you need to switch the loco radio to the dispatcher channel?

I know in the fire service, we (at least the people managing the incident) commonly need to monitor two separate radios during incidents to ensure we hear all the radio traffic we need to hear.

It is certainly not ideal, but maybe an option for preventing a catastrophe? Obviously, reception of radio traffic would be reduced on the portable, but at the very least, you should be able to pick up a transmission from the detector if it is only a couple miles or less behind you. I'd be curious to know how that works out if you try it.

Good luck and stay safe out there!

benrussellpa wrote:What's the feasibility of having a crew member leave a portable radio on the road channel when you need to switch the loco radio to the dispatcher channel?

I know in the fire service, we (at least the people managing the incident) commonly need to monitor two separate radios during incidents to ensure we hear all the radio traffic we need to hear.

It is certainly not ideal, but maybe an option for preventing a catastrophe? Obviously, reception of radio traffic would be reduced on the portable, but at the very least, you should be able to pick up a transmission from the detector if it is only a couple miles or less behind you. I'd be curious to know how that works out if you try it.

Well, that's what I tried to do at first.

Why didn't/doesn't it work? First, resistance from some conductors. Every time I'd ask him to dig out his radio, I'd get a "what for?" and a look of annoyance. Frankly, I get tired of explaining myself to people who are just too blazè about the situation to worry.

Then, there's the problem - with ANY receiver - of feedback, squeal, if you forget to turn it down once you've moved back onto the "road" channel. It seems to happen a lot if the other guy's keeping the other radio. You key the mike, and you get treated to that ear-splitting squeal - and another dirty look from your crewmate.

It's a hassle, any way you look at it.

Yes, it's doable - and with emergency crews, unavoidable. In the case of railroad dispatching, it's unnecessary...we got by with ONE channel, easily, and I firmly believe, more safely.

The answer for the DD is easy.

If the dispatcher wants you to go over to his channel, and you are about to go over a DD (since we know where they are) just tell him to standby. Then once the DD reports, switch channels.

What's the problem?

First, the dispatchers HATE TO WAIT.

No longer are they at the console constantly. They don't monitor the road channel; and keying them up on the Dispatcher Channel often takes many minutes.

Second...often times it's for an EC-1 (replacement for NORAC Form D) giving speed restriction on a stretch a train is RAPIDLY APPROACHING. Or a Stop-and-Protect on a crossing.

It could even be a train on the ground or in Emergency just up ahead...those are potentially emergency situations.

YOU DON'T KNOW. So you need to FIND OUT - fast.

I know this is now a dead topic but if any of you had any questions, go ahead and fire away...

-IH Dispatcher

My expierences in such a situation, has been when the crew let's the Dsp know we're about to cross a detector. They'll let us know what kind of problem and where it's at, so we can slow the train and when clear of the detector, switch over and recieve the EC-1 before we cross the EC-1's authority location. If it's too close to the detector, stopping the train and recieving the EC-1 is the safer option.