River Line Radio Frequencies/Questions

Anyone able to post the radio frequencies used by CSX on the River Line (old NYC West Shore Line)? I'm specifically looking at the area from Kingston, NY north to Selkirk Yard. In addition, where can I find the locations for defect detectors in the same area? Thanks for the help !!

Site has some errors, but is accurate enough to use it.
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=2258

As for defect detectors, I'm not sure someone else will fill you in.

Just to pin it down a bit closer for you from what Espee9180 posted. If you want to listen to the River Line you'll need to program the following 2 frequencies in your scanner: 160.980 and 160.260. All trains that run the River Line use both channels. I want to say that the defect detectors are on 160.980, but I'm having a 'senior moment' as I write this so I'm not 100% sure of that.

As for the location of the detectors I can't help you there. When it comes to railfanning the River Line I usually stay right in the Bear Mountain area. The one detector I can hear is at Stony Point, NY. That detector, as well as the automatic signal at MP 41, and the 2 radio frequencies, keep me informed.

CSX river line uses 160.260 as their road channel and 160.980 as there dispatch channel. 160.260 is the channel used by crews to give their location and by the detectors. The detectors that I've heard from railfanning are the detectors at Stony Point and then at Roseton N.Y. I believe there are also detectors near Ravena, Athens, and Saugerties. The dispatch channel is used primarily to give out train orders by the NI dispatcher. You may also want to check out http://www.wislew.com and also steve's railroad page. Hope this helps and enjoy your railfanning.

Thanks !! Wealth of info, anwered all my questions and gave me info I can really use. Thanks again!!

I was in the area of the Poughkeepsie Bridge (walkway over the Hudson) last month and the radio use on the River
Subdivision was as follows:
Road channel, used for calling signals, crews using to call signals and communication between trains on Channel 58 which is
160.98
For the train dispatcher Channel 10 is used which is 160.26.
Current timetable also shows use of these channels as I stated above.
Noel Weaver

ok i got a little confused. If out railfanning with the scanner on, which one should I be listening too?

Steve F45 wrote:ok i got a little confused. If out railfanning with the scanner on, which one should I be listening too?

You are using a scanner, scan them both.
Noel Weaver

CSX found with crews calling signals and the like there was too much traffic for one frequency to handle. So they put the dispatcher on another frequency to talk to the trains, while the crews remain on the old frequency to answer detectors, call signals and the like. At least that's how I understand it.

Noel Weaver wrote:I was in the area of the Poughkeepsie Bridge (walkway over the Hudson) last month and the radio use on the River
Subdivision was as follows:
Road channel, used for calling signals, crews using to call signals and communication between trains on Channel 58 which is
160.98
For the train dispatcher Channel 10 is used which is 160.26.
Current timetable also shows use of these channels as I stated above.
Noel Weaver

Also, the dispatcher will always call the crews on 160.980, as that is the channel they normally monitor. When they want to call the dispatcher, they need to switch to 160.260.

Noel;
I was up there on the Walkway last month. Great place to be, to watch trains, and to walk / run.
I took Metro North from GCT. I took some photos, but nothing really spectacular, as the trees had mostly lost their leaves.
I plan to go back sometime after thee is a good snow cover, as I understand the bridge is open all year round.
I didn't take my radio on that trip, but probably will on the next. There are a few Amateur repeaters, and some simplex I can work from up there.
Should get good coverage on CSX and MN as well. I would expect coverage at least north to Kingston, and south to Bear Mtn.

FW

I recall when Conrail used 160.800, which was also used by Amtrak on the NEC. They were constantly having radio transmissions obliterated by Portal and Hunter.
I was fanning the River Line a few days after they changed to 160.980, and didn't know, so I was curious as to why I didn't hear the Stony Point detector from Bear Mtn, nor did I hear anything else, except Amtrak.

The defect detectors are extremely low power, so don't expect to pick up any of them from any distance.
That said, I have been heard the Stony Point detector from near CP10 using my handheld with a 1/2 whip.
Then, I can sometimes barely pick up the detector at MP 7.2 using my Ringo Ranger on the roof, from my home which is only about 1 mile from that detector!

Now that the trees are bare, I'm picking up the Orangeburg NY detector again. I don't get that one when leaves are on.

The detectors listed in an old Conrail timetable I have are:
MP 7.2 (not listed in CR, but I know location by radio monitor)
Orangeburg NY; MP 20.5
Stony Point NY; MP 38.5
Roeston NY: MP 61.0
Hercules: MP 84.4
Saugerties: MP 97.9
Catskill: MP 108.1 (Catskill Trestle)

High car detectors: Bogota: MP 7.2, Selkirk, MP 132.6

If you take your radio to the summit of Bear Mtn (reachable by car, and foot), you can hear activity on the River Line from Newark, NJ to Kingston, NY.
Only problem up there is strong intermod from the police transmitter on the mountain.

Is there still a yardmaster at Kingston yard?

FW

What was really neat many years ago when the south end of the River Line radio transmitter was at Alpine, NJ. We could
hear that transmitter from all over the place. Way up into Connecticut, I remember hearing it from Torrington on a hand
held unit back in the mid 70's. They don't have a radio anywhere today to compare with that one.
Noel Weaver

Noel Weaver wrote:What was really neat many years ago when the south end of the River Line radio transmitter was at Alpine, NJ. We could
hear that transmitter from all over the place. Way up into Connecticut, I remember hearing it from Torrington on a hand
held unit back in the mid 70's. They don't have a radio anywhere today to compare with that one.
Noel Weaver

I remember that. I knew an Amateur radio operator who worked for Conrail, and his job was to service that radio, and others. He told me it got quite windy up on that tower. At one time, I thought I might want to do such work, but that was when I was in my early 20's<g>.

FW

CPSK wrote:I recall when Conrail used 160.800, which was also used by Amtrak on the NEC. They were constantly having radio transmissions obliterated by Portal and Hunter.
I was fanning the River Line a few days after they changed to 160.980, and didn't know, so I was curious as to why I didn't hear the Stony Point detector from Bear Mtn, nor did I hear anything else, except Amtrak.

The defect detectors are extremely low power, so don't expect to pick up any of them from any distance.
That said, I have been heard the Stony Point detector from near CP10 using my handheld with a 1/2 whip.
Then, I can sometimes barely pick up the detector at MP 7.2 using my Ringo Ranger on the roof, from my home which is only about 1 mile from that detector!

Now that the trees are bare, I'm picking up the Orangeburg NY detector again. I don't get that one when leaves are on.

The detectors listed in an old Conrail timetable I have are:
MP 7.2 (not listed in CR, but I know location by radio monitor)
Orangeburg NY; MP 20.5
Stony Point NY; MP 38.5
Roeston NY: MP 61.0
Hercules: MP 84.4
Saugerties: MP 97.9
Catskill: MP 108.1 (Catskill Trestle)

High car detectors: Bogota: MP 7.2, Selkirk, MP 132.6

If you take your radio to the summit of Bear Mtn (reachable by car, and foot), you can hear activity on the River Line from Newark, NJ to Kingston, NY.
Only problem up there is strong intermod from the police transmitter on the mountain.

Is there still a yardmaster at Kingston yard?

FW

MP 7.2, Bogota, NJ

CPSK wrote:I recall when Conrail used 160.800, which was also used by Amtrak on the NEC. They were constantly having radio transmissions obliterated by Portal and Hunter.
I was fanning the River Line a few days after they changed to 160.980, and didn't know, so I was curious as to why I didn't hear the Stony Point detector from Bear Mtn, nor did I hear anything else, except Amtrak.

The defect detectors are extremely low power, so don't expect to pick up any of them from any distance.
That said, I have been heard the Stony Point detector from near CP10 using my handheld with a 1/2 whip.
Then, I can sometimes barely pick up the detector at MP 7.2 using my Ringo Ranger on the roof, from my home which is only about 1 mile from that detector!

Now that the trees are bare, I'm picking up the Orangeburg NY detector again. I don't get that one when leaves are on.

The detectors listed in an old Conrail timetable I have are:
MP 7.2 (not listed in CR, but I know location by radio monitor)
Orangeburg NY; MP 20.5
Stony Point NY; MP 38.5
Roeston NY: MP 61.0
Hercules: MP 84.4
Saugerties: MP 97.9
Catskill: MP 108.1 (Catskill Trestle)

High car detectors: Bogota: MP 7.2, Selkirk, MP 132.6

If you take your radio to the summit of Bear Mtn (reachable by car, and foot), you can hear activity on the River Line from Newark, NJ to Kingston, NY.
Only problem up there is strong intermod from the police transmitter on the mountain.

Is there still a yardmaster at Kingston yard?

FW

Dam i've been at CP10 with my scanner on and using window mount. I can barely hear the defect detector at MP7.2, most of the time I never hear it. I can hear them on occaision calling the signals at mp15, most of the time i only hear the mp13 signals. CP5 never from cp10 and barely the signals just north of cp7. I need to get a better antenna.