How do i know where a cargo train is going?

i live in a town which a train runs through and i'd like to know where it's going, is there a website i can go to?





i live in oregonHow do i know where a cargo train is going?
You would have to know the train ID and even then unless you knew what the codes are for the cities it wouldn't do you any good.For example you might have an ID like the ILBCH would would be an intermodal train going from Long Beach Ca to Chicago Ill.I don't know of a website that would tell you though.And if you inquired of a crew about it they would probably report it in this day and age of heightened security.You might go look here and see if it helps.


http://www.railserve.com/Regional/ or this one http://www.railfan.net/How do i know where a cargo train is going?
Hello fellow Oregonian.





There is no good website as the trains are not really public knowledge, but since I am a hardcore railfan, maybe I can help.





Not knowing where you live, I'm going to have an extremely long list of trains, but I'm going to be as general as possible.





I'm assuming that the railroad is Union Pacific, since BNSF's line through Bend has been very quiet this quarter. So. Here goes.





If you're lucky enough to have the number for UP's equipment tracing system, then all you have to do is trace the number on the lead locomotive and it will tell you the train's final destination. However, since that number is not generally available to the public, careful observations are usually enough.





In the Willamette Valley, trains mostly go to Roseville or Eugene if they are southbound, Portland or Hinkle when northbound. Often you can tell by the types of cars. Eugene trains through the Valley (example Albany) generally have empty lumber cars and boxcars, with a few covered hoppers for cement. Roseville-bound trains often carry lots of lumber loads and have locomotives on the rear of the train to help it climb through the Cascades.





Northbound, the trains are the opposite. Portland-bound trains often have empty lumber cars and a mix of other stuff. I don't think there is a direct train to Lake Yard anymore, but Albina Yard trains usually have a lot of Canadian National equipment (CN, IC, WC, DWC marks on the cars) and a lot of Union Pacific hoppers. Hinkle-bound trains are more geared toward Canadian Pacific (CP, SOO marks) because of the interchange between the two railroads at Eastport, Idaho. They may also carry a lot of white ARMN refrigerator cars.





In the Columbia Gorge, the trains can generally be identified the same way, but with the added complication of trying to figure out which trains are going to Seattle and North Platte. There are also unit grain trains, some of which come from Canada, others from the Midwest (the Canada ones have CP/SOO stuff) and it is pretty much impossible to get an exact destination without the tracing system.





Also in the Columbia Gorge are the Canpotex potash trains which run Eastport-Portland Rivergate for export, the PGEX coal trains from Wyoming to Castle (Boardman), other coal trains going to Roberts Bank, BC for export, and the USEGL/UGLSE (Seattle-Arlington/Gilliam) garbage train rotation. This last has a lot of containers with canvas tops and if you're standing close enough to the train, you can smell it. Also look for ';Rabanco,'; ';Waste Management,'; and ';Allied Waste'; logos on the containers.





Intermodal (trailer/container) service is a bit easier to figure out. Most of these trains going through the Columbia Gorge are stack trains to/from Chicago and Seattle/Tacoma. A mostly APL train is probably going to Global North in Seattle. Type Z trains have very high priority traffic like UPS and FedEx trailers and those in the Gorge are generally Seattle-Chicago or going to Marion, AR. Some trains have both trailers and containers but if it has UPS or FedEx, it is a Z train.





Willamette Valley intermodal is much easier to figure out. UPS trailers make it a Z train on Los Angeles to Portland/Seattle rotation, otherwise it's probably an Oakland-Seattle or a Long Beach-Global North. Sometimes empty trains will run, which are called ';bare tables'; because of all the empty flatcars. UP calls them repositioning moves.





Speaking of repositioning, there are also autoracks through the Valley, which run on the AMLBAR, for Autos Mira Loma-Barnes Yard (Portland) Repositioning. These are empty racks for Toyota. I don't know much about auto trains in the Gorge, though.





I know it's a long answer, but it's about as close as you'll get to accurately identifying trains in Oregon.
Dont quote me on this but I'm sure American rail would have a control system similar to an air traffic system. We do in Australia and hence we can listen on a scanner and follow the movements on every train in our nearest control area. Bear in mind that these sort of control systems have powerful repeaters so you chould be able to cover a wide distance. Some of our passenger trains like the `Indian Pacific' have their own band but still need to get permissions and info from the state controllers too.
when it stops at your station one day u will see there s a ticket at side of the truck that will give u the destination that specific truck is going to.


You have to know where the line is cumming from and where it s heading.
Depending on which railroad it is you can go to their website and look at a map of their territory and see where you are at and go from there.
No, there is no website to know where the cargo train is going.But, the cargo train goes to some other places from your town.
you can just go on google maps or live maps and see where the rails lead to.
Jump on it and ride to see. Catch the one on the way back once you figure it out.
jump on the train next time you see it.


check the oregon train schedule
find out what company it is, go to the site if they have one, and check there
Lay your head on the rails and listen to the hum.
Jump in front of it and wait.
Follow its tracks.
hop in when it drives by
google it, they propably will lead u to one of the cargos official site