[Scan-DC] Rail road question.

[Bruce Harper]

There is another way to join railroads and radios with computers and get a visual idea of what is happening on the rails.  A Windows program called ATCS Monitor gives a dispatcher's display of how switches and signals are set and where trains are in a section of railroad.  Railroads are moving from the lineside wires and relays to control switches and signals to using radio connections to communicate with the trackside hardware.  With a scanner with a discriminator tap to output the raw audio, a decent sound card to feed the audio into, and the ATCS Monitor software to convert the signal into a data, one can watch a nearby section of railroad or connect to a server to see what's happening on a favorite yet distant line.  The protocols are open and it is one-way communication. There is an active user community with folks active and interested in radio, others who are deeply into computes and programming, with a common interest in train watching.

There are data files and layouts available for areas in and around Washington, mainly the CSX lines to the west in Maryland. Several dedicated volunteers have servers available where one can connect to see in real time what trains are moving where.

For more information, check out the Yahoo group for ATCS Monitor at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/ATCS_Monitor/

-- 
Bruce in Blacksburg         === In the heart of N&W territory. ===

Bruce B. Harper                              (540)231-4360
University Relations/Web Communications  bharper at vt.edu
Virginia Tech        Blacksburg, Virginia  26060
See N&W WWW Page at http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bharper/nwrwy/