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I don't come around that much anymore on these message boards, but whats the best radio skip or the coolest location you ever got a radio skip at? Mine was in the drive through at a Taco Bell in Haines City, FL in 2008. I was hearing things from Tampa Bay, Okeechobee, and even on the FEC. Feel free to react to me on this topic.

From 7am this morning Until 12 Noon I was at Romulus, and listening to the IP Dispatcher on the B&O talk to a T Series Coal Train, Q113, Q368 with their fuel readings, and 3 maintainers. Mind you from Romulus to the B&O thats over 100 Miles!

While not railfanning, but at work...heading north around Beecher, IL (MP 36), on channel 20, we could hear the UP Dispatcher 32 in Omaha talking to trains at Findlay Jct (MP 185) clear as day. 150 miles. That section is seperated on the Villa Grove and Pana Subs by channel 65 between Woodland, IL and Findlay, IL. South of Findlay and north of Woodland, it is channel 20. Findlay north to Chicago is dispatched by Dispatcher 48 in Chicago.

We couldn't figure out what was going on at first...this dispatcher we'd never heard before on our channel. Then we heard a train get flagged past a signal at CPI185. Thought it was pretty impressive.

From Jackson Mi. have heard Rockwood yard at Cleveland. CSX at Greenwich Ohio. The best was on a trip to Pennsylvania, around Cleveland we got to hear a UP dispatcher, Matt or Jon might remember where it was from.

While I cant rember what one, on the UP dispatcher, the best I have ever gotten on the train is, sitting at the south end of Stanley yard one night (Toledo), I heard CN TD3 Troy, give out a track warrent to a BLE crew and partaly heard the BLE crew repeat it back. At home on my scanner in the car, sitting at Vickers one night, I clearly picked up Lima, OH, Cleveland, and the DD on the B&O out at MP 73 (Hicksville).

sd70accsxt700 wrote:the DD on the B&O out at MP 73

That would be Holgate.

I've heard the Iowa Interstate dispatcher while on the I&O channel before.

When the band would really open up a friend in Cincinnati would run his scanner through an audio chat room in Yahoo and we'd hear CP in southern Ontario and BNSF switching in Missouri.

railohio wrote:

sd70accsxt700 wrote:the DD on the B&O out at MP 73

That would be Holgate.

Poop wrong H town again, that is why I receve the award for best signal calling. LOL

sd70accsxt700 wrote:While I cant rember what one, on the UP dispatcher, the best I have ever gotten on the train is, sitting at the south end of Stanley yard one night (Toledo), I heard CN TD3 Troy, give out a track warrent to a BLE crew and partaly heard the BLE crew repeat it back.

I've heard that too, but I think Lake Erie helps that signal quite a bit.

Channel 70 was the Garrett Yard Channel, I was switching cars late one night when I heard the "BNSF C&I Dispatcher" call a train near Chana, IL. That was probably every bit of 200 miles as the crow flies. Heard Parson's Yardmaster in Columbus, OH while at Bremen, IN. WR Tower while at Ripley, IN. We'd get the NS Chicago East around Bryan while we were near Ansonia, OH. Also get Chicago West while near Crawfordsville, IN.

Last night was hearing CSX Dispatcher out of Nashville talking around Vincennes, IN. I also get to hear the UP Dispatcher around Chicago Heights quite a bit. Also get stuff off the NS near Marion, IN but that's because we're both on base radios, both probably using former Conrail Channels, and its really not that far of a distance.

Practice Safe CSX

The band has been opening up at night lately. It seems the most open early in the morning. For instance, yesterday I was mobile near Mansfield, Ohio and heard the CP Windsor Sub dispatcher and a maintainer conversing on Channel 71 quite clearly (Channel 71 is used locally by the Ashland Railway). Even after I got home in Columbus I was still picking up the Toledo Yard dispatcher. Keep in mind I'm using an indoor antenna, however I am on the second floor.

Last July my dad and I heard the NS New Castle dispatcher give out a Track Authority between Campbellstown and Richmond and heard the maintainer read it back, both clear as a bell. We were just out of the house on the northwest side of Columbus.

And apparently just this morning the scanner feed in Troy, Ohio picked up a CN dispatcher.

I was out at Hicksville a couple days ago and heard a Q135 calling signals east of Willard for about 20 minutes until they got into the yard for a crew change. Don't know if that's a skip or just some badass range though.

Last summer with my handheld scanner, I picked up Q136 calling the signal at AY (Arlington Street in Akron, OH) from RD 112 on the NS Cleveland Line in Maple Heights. That's about the best I can think of off the top of my head.

Hearing the CN TD3 dispatcher give CN 383 to work Edison Yard from Bellevue

I picked up Avon and Indy a few times in the spring.

I was in St. Joseph about 20 years ago, and heard Plaster Creek Tower in Grand Rapids.(80 miles)
I also heard BO Tower give a Form D from St. Joseph. (about 55 miles or so)

Once, down in Porter in 1999, during the final days of Conrail, I heard a train in Benton Harbor, and the St. Joseph Bridge Tender. Porter is CG 136, St. Joseph Bridge is CG 87.9.

One night at home, I heard trains in Hamler, OH, Chicago, IL, Baldwin, MI, and as far east as MA near Lansing.
That night, I listened to a train from East Saugatuck to Porter, then west on the Conrail at Porter to CP 505.
I also hear a train clear the Mino, Seneca, and Ottawa Blocks, along a line that follows I-80.
That same night, a train with an approach at Dolton got bled over by DD19.1 at Zeeland. (I put a tape in the tape player and hit record...may still have the tape somewhere....that's how I remember all this stuff. )

Recently, on my handheld, I was sitting in St. Joseph and heard Q335 near CP505 on the NS, and some train on the NS getting track somewhere I had never heard of...I think they said Schneider to Grain...I'm guessing in Illinois, as they had to work in Kankakee,

This happens periodically, but almost every morning 3am-6am I will pick up Toledo west on the NS Chicago line.

Jochs wrote: Recently, on my handheld, I was sitting in St. Joseph and heard Q335 near CP505 on the NS, and some train on the NS getting track somewhere I had never heard of...I think they said Schneider to Grain...I'm guessing in Illinois, as they had to work in Kankakee,

That is the NS Kankakee Line.

One night I picked up the Chicago Line from about Zeeland. Even heard a South Shore running that night.

best rail band skip i got was one night i was driving north on michigan street in south bend near the transpo station and heard a CSX detector go off for a west bound at garrett indiana best non rail skip i got was talking to a ham radio operator in texas using 10 watts of power while sitting in the car by the river on my 6 meter rig

For what it's worth, it seems the band is opening up again in the morning. Just today from my house near Columbus I was picking up both the IP and IO dispatchers like the bases they were talking on were in my backyard (from what I heard, the IO Dispatcher was having signal trouble at Sterling). And I heard the IE dispatcher give permission to a train to open up the east end of the Galion siding, which is a good 60 miles from me.

Even the HD and IP dispatchers were complaining that one another were walking over each other (they're both on Channel 94, or at least HD is south of Columbus).