As a modern-day railfan, I marvel at how technology has made it easier than ever to track and learn about the railroad-related topics that interest me. From live video webcams all around the country, to the latest newswire items, to extensive collections of historical information, it truly is a whole new world when it comes to chasing trains.
One of these technological marvels is a website commonly known as “ASM” which many train travelers and railfans use to track the progress of passenger trains all around the United States and Canada. Officially known as the “Intercity Rail Map” and found at https://asm.transitdocs.com/, the site uses real-time data from Amtrak to display a graphical map of North America with the location of each train and its on-time status.
I have often used this site when riding the rails, to see how we’re doing time-wise, when we’re estimated to arrive at various stations, and when we’re likely to pass other trains - all information Google Maps does not provide. I mention it frequently in my journals, and in The Ramblin Railfan, a book I wrote about my epic train trip around the country in the summer of 2021.
I will also often keep the ASM site open in a tab in my browser, when on my computer during the day, and it will periodically refresh to show updated train location. It is especially noticeable when you click back to it after being in another tab for a while. A second or two after clicking it, all of the little graphical train markers will shift just a little on the map. Upwards of one hundred little bubbles on weekdays, their colors ranging from green (on-time) to black (extremely late), move to show the forward progress of the trains they represent.
For me, this is a poignant little bit of “armchair train-chasing”, a powerful visual reminder that no matter where I am or what I’m doing, whether on a train or at home in my armchair early in the morning having coffee, the trains are out there moving, 24/7, through all kinds of weather and situations. Thousands of people are in motion, sleeping, eating and talking. Sleeper car attendants are making up beds and helping passengers, conductors are making announcements, engineers are calling out signals, and cafe car attendants are making coffee.
Seeing those little blips on my screen move reassures me that the world is still turning, and the trains are still running. Maybe not on-time, all of the time, but they’re out there trying, and by God that means something to me. It’s my way of staying connected with the rails, some remote railfanning, until the next time I’m able to ride.
So until that next time, to those souls out there on those trains: happy travels, friends. I hope to join you soon.