In the U.S. channels 3-6 are used by railroads for truck operations. The following table converts from AAR channel number to the appropriate radio frequency. 97 161.565 Note that these frequencies are not the only frequencies used by railroads. Some railroads also use frequencies in the 4xx.xxx MegaHertz band, particularly around 45x.xxx, 46x.xxx, and 47x.xxx. Most railroad radios that synthesize the frequencies have a window that shows the AAR channel number for transmitting and the AAR channel number for receiving.
Railroads also use some frequencies to transmit end of train telemetry.
AAR has allocated 457.9375 MHz for EOT telemetry, which most railroads use. However, Norfolk Southern uses 161.115 MHz . Since EOT devices transmit at two watts, the transmission will travel about 3 to 5 miles. Thus, by setting your scanner to scan these EOT frequencies, you get a warning whenever a train approaches. Thus, this strategy works best if your scanner makes it easy to change the channels that are scanned so that you can stop scanning 457.9375 when you know a train is close.