In 18 yrs of surveying in the rural midwest, I've only had one run in with the RR folks. And they were very accommodating. We've got base stations in RR ROW. Not once(except for the above)have we had to ask for permission. What was fun was occupying a rail in the old days to get a direction on a long railroad tangent line. Had a boss get really nervous once doing that. Had to admit seeing that headlight coming focused the mind to the task at hand.
> What was fun was occupying a rail in the old days to get a direction on a long railroad tangent line. Had a boss get really nervous once doing that. Had to admit seeing that headlight coming focused the mind to the task at hand.
I always hated doing that. I could never relax when I saw the headlight, even when I was sure the train was at least 15 minutes away. I haven't set up on the tracks since EDMs became commonplace and made the practice unnecessary.