Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Daily whereabouts of train locations along with sightings for heads ups to other railfans.

Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Poll ended at Fri May 27, 2022 9:45 pm

Amtrak on Host Railroad Update
24
35%
Amtrak on Amtrak thread only
13
19%
Reply for every train seen
12
17%
Edit existing reply with new train details within past hour
20
29%
 
Total votes: 69

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Eric Berger
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Re: Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Unread post by Eric Berger »

Here's how we do it at the FM DX boards.

We start a new thread for a new DX opening, UNLESS new openings are less than a couple of hours apart. (I usually go about two hours.) Also, I've had times where I've worked multiple clouds at different QTEs. With this scenario, we just keep adding to the existing thread. For each new log, we post a new response. Reason being. FM DX (Especially Sporadic E-skip openings) are VERY time sensitive; it's quicker and easier just to add a quick response than it is to go in and update the responses.

After the opening ends, then we usually make one final response to the thread, which is a summary or tally of what all we'd heard.

So, along the same lines, I'd probably do the same thing if I were railfanning; create a thread for the QTH, then post new responses whenever a train would pass by. However, I can't do that since I have no Internet access when out and about.

It's worked for the sesquidecade or so that I've been on the FM DX boards.
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Re: Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Unread post by LansingRailFan »

Eric Berger wrote:
Thu May 26, 2022 4:33 pm
Here's how we do it at the FM DX boards.

We start a new thread for a new DX opening, UNLESS new openings are less than a couple of hours apart. (I usually go about two hours.) Also, I've had times where I've worked multiple clouds at different QTEs. With this scenario, we just keep adding to the existing thread. For each new log, we post a new response. Reason being. FM DX (Especially Sporadic E-skip openings) are VERY time sensitive; it's quicker and easier just to add a quick response than it is to go in and update the responses.

After the opening ends, then we usually make one final response to the thread, which is a summary or tally of what all we'd heard.

So, along the same lines, I'd probably do the same thing if I were railfanning; create a thread for the QTH, then post new responses whenever a train would pass by. However, I can't do that since I have no Internet access when out and about.

It's worked for the sesquidecade or so that I've been on the FM DX boards.
What’s an FM Dx

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Eric Berger
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Re: Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Unread post by Eric Berger »

LansingRailFan wrote:
Thu May 26, 2022 6:34 pm
What’s an FM Dx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_and_FM_DX

I mostly go after Tropospheric and Sporadic E propagation, both of which are talked about in that article. Also, I believe that this is what enables you to sometimes hear scanner transmissions from over a hundred miles at times.
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Re: Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Unread post by GTWTD3 »

One of the things that makes the board "tedious" is the amount of updates on the same train in new threads. The CSX board is a prime example of it, this morning there were 4 pages of new posts, with a majority of them being updates on the same train, most of them including the previous posters text. It becomes quite tedious to go through all of that. I'd suggest either forcing all replies to appear as one subject that can be read at once, or at the very least, not including the text of previous posts on the new update unless the post is responding to something that requires the previous text.
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Tom49801
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Re: Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Unread post by Tom49801 »

GTWTD3 wrote:
Mon May 30, 2022 9:39 am
One of the things that makes the board "tedious" is the amount of updates on the same train in new threads. The CSX board is a prime example of it, this morning there were 4 pages of new posts, with a majority of them being updates on the same train, most of them including the previous posters text. It becomes quite tedious to go through all of that. I'd suggest either forcing all replies to appear as one subject that can be read at once, or at the very least, not including the text of previous posts on the new update unless the post is responding to something that requires the previous text.
Is the "Heads Up" thread intended to keep rail fans updated with the latest progress who may be out track side waiting for a train, or, is it to be a "History Thread" for trains that have already past by maybe hours ago? You find "reading posts" to be "tedious"? Try keeping up with 4 CSX scanner channels running at the same time & making detailed posts because some don't even bother with reading prior posts, yet alone a prior page, and will ask about such & such train - that is what I find to be "tedious".

You had stated "One of the things that makes the board "tedious" is the amount of updates on the same train in new threads." Are you saying you're finding trains being reported in a Thread & it's also being reported in a different titled Thread, for example a train being reported in the "CSX Train Locations" titled thread & then being re-posted again in a differently named Thread, too?

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Re: Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Unread post by Ypsi »

The direct result of this is outside of west side CSX line updates, no more (or way less) Amtrak updates will be posted or found… how it was made sense and people knew where to look. It wasn’t broken and we probably didn’t need to fix it. Personally if you really wanted to “change” maybe an update system by rail line makes more sense. Look at how Facebook groups are generally divided up, some cover multiple lines but generally a line has its own group where updates are posted.

Ex:

Amtrak Michigan line
CSX Grand Rapids sub updates
CSX Plymouth sub updates
CSX Saginaw sub
CN flint sub updates
CN Holly sub
NS Detroit district
NS Detroit line
Conrail shared assets

So on so forth. This would likely have less posts per thread and have organization that makes more sense.
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Re: Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Unread post by GTWTD3 »

Tom you act like I don't listen to scanners, or take notes. If you're advocating that the posts are only meant for people to see what's coming, instead of a historical record, well then I think we disagree with the purpose of the board. I think it's both. Having said that, 4 pages of notes about the same train seems excessive especially when 50% of the text is quoting what was previously said. A new post saying Q326 is by mp 1, and then another saying it's by milepost 10, doesn't need to quote the post for milepost 1. More to scroll through, more to miss what's being said.
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Tom49801
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Re: Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Unread post by Tom49801 »

GTWTD3 wrote:
Wed Jun 01, 2022 6:52 pm
Tom you act like I don't listen to scanners, or take notes. If you're advocating that the posts are only meant for people to see what's coming, instead of a historical record, well then I think we disagree with the purpose of the board. I think it's both. Having said that, 4 pages of notes about the same train seems excessive especially when 50% of the text is quoting what was previously said. A new post saying Q326 is by mp 1, and then another saying it's by milepost 10, doesn't need to quote the post for milepost 1. More to scroll through, more to miss what's being said.
That's not all what I am advocating, it serves both present & future references. And, yes, it's definitely not necessary to post the same train again that has only traveled 9 or so miles. One time in the past, someone had made a comment that I should wait 2 hours & then just make a list of activity based on those 2 prior hours, which, isn't helpful for those who may be out & about rail fanning and looking relying on the "heads up" posts.

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Re: Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Unread post by GRHC »

D@mned if you do and d@mned if you don’t 🤯

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Re: Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Unread post by GTWTD3 »

[/quote]
That's not all what I am advocating, it serves both present & future references. And, yes, it's definitely not necessary to post the same train again that has only traveled 9 or so miles. One time in the past, someone had made a comment that I should wait 2 hours & then just make a list of activity based on those 2 prior hours, which, isn't helpful for those who may be out & about rail fanning and looking relying on the "heads up" posts.
[/quote]

Yeah a time limit to me doesn't make sense, makes the heads up nature of the post pointless.
The dispatcher is cool.

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~Z~
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Re: Vote - Amtrak location and consecutive posts

Unread post by ~Z~ »

Appears we have some pretty clear voting lines here, and we'll stick with the majority on these. Going forward, we'd like to see Amtrak posts being on the host of the line itself. Example - Amtrak P371/P370 Pere Marquette being on the CSX update thread. Amtrak's Blue Water can go on CN while it's on CN trackage, Amtrak thread while on Amtrak trackage. Whatever the case, don't crosspost to add the same update to multiple threads.

For the Train Location Updates, if you are the last person to post, and your post was started within the past hour, just edit your post to add whatever updates to that train or multiple trains into your last post. If someone replies to you, feel free to then make a new post if you have a new update. We're trying to consolidate posts for the times when one person would post 4-5 times within a 10 minute span. For LSR's question, post about the multiple trains in any order as you want - time/location/train ID/etc.

I appreciate the input, and am very appreciative of all the contributions that people have taken their time to post here. Your heads up about incoming trains are very valuable for those who want to head out to catch it, or even just to read the happening of the trains in our areas.
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