This is the most asked question on any Virtual Railfan Chat. Each location is different.
Lagrange is a quiet line. we see 5-9 trains a day - on average. Weekends and public holidays may see
less trains run.
Trains do not run without making money, or related to making money - ie empty train travels somewhere to
pick up frieght. MOW train fix the track - there is always a reason to run a train. CSX in this case run
as few trains as possible to make them as long as possible to reduce costs. Where we used to see 20-25
trains a day, some might argue we still see the same loads but on longer and fewer trains now.
So with all the distance involved trains do not run frequently. Let's do some maths:
If there are 9 trains a day and it takes 10 minutes for each train to pass,
There must be 1hr 40 minutes of train in view. That also means there is 22 hours 20 minutes of NO TRAINS in view.
(24/60)-(9x10) {minutes}
So when is the next train ?
The line is used as required - so there is no schedule/timetable. There is no ATCS or tracking.
We mainly see the train when it appears on the street. At night we can usually hear the horns at remote grade crossing that can be 4 minutes out. Then during winter we can see the headlight of the southbound trains through the trees (above the buildings)
Sometimes local railfans see and report train movement in the region.
There is a local Radio feed available (Thanks Ken) that allows anyone to listen in to the CSX local radio. The link is in the video's description as well as here . The radio can be finicky at times and the coverage is mainly to the south. One listens for train crews to call their locations. You can also hear the Disptachers, and train controllers. The DD also can be heard via this link.
Many people think there is a schedule, but this is not the case. The Dispatchers in Jacksonville have a set of rules to determine where trains go and use this LCL and the LIRC to achieve the end goal of moving the trains. It is true we see many trains every day/night on a regular basis. But the times are never the same, and the sequence can change too.
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