So many walkie-talkies!
RS sells Family Radio Service (FRS) walkie-talkies (along with just about every big-box and sporting goods outfit). They won't do you a bit of good as they are in the 400 MHZ UHF band.
RS also sells VHF-HI walkie-talkies on the itinerant frequencies (red dot, blue dot, etc). Unless you have the ability to reprogram them, they won't help either, and they're usually just single or two channel besides.
They might also have the GRS radios, which are also pre-programmed for specific frequencies, although I don't remember the band.
I acquired (legally) a walkie-talkie that I use for both the railroad (legally - I volunteer with them) and for local fire and EMS (also legally - I am a firefighter/EMT). I can program it, and it will scan. I'm not sure how well John Q. Railfan would fare if caught trackside with one like it, however, even if all of the channels were programmed for receive only...
It was much more expensive than a pocket scanner and only has 32 channels in the VHF-High range - a real limitation if you also want to listen to public safety and others on your scanner as well. And I certainly wouldn't want to get caught at a public safety incident with what appears to be a walkie-talkie if I didn't have a reason to have one.
