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Monday’s Job
Set control, tied into a previous survey, and located the rail. The last picture is just under 14,000 points on the rails. Not bad for about 5 hours of work
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11 Replies
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That receiver is HUGE!!
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That’s what she said!
T. Nelson – SAM, LLC -
Excellent photos! I enjoy seeing the different places, and types of work, from all of the surveyors here. Thanks for sharing!
T. Nelson – SAM, LLC -
Adam,
How doe the Geod system work with loop track. I just finished up a project for a bulk storage terminal with three (3) long loops (looking for a 4th to get a full 170 car unit train in). Unfortunately given the constant presence of rail cars, I could not break out the GNSS and had to go conventional. The Amberg software choked when it smoothed back on itself. I had to break them all into 2 sections with a large overlap. Still, it beats taking a shot every 25 feet.
This is photo from a couple of years ago taken while surveying in about 20 miles of track for a commuter rail.
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I haven’t had any actual loop tracks to survey, but if I did, I would probably do the last portion as a separate section. Then combine them in Civil3D. The Gedo software always tries to do some funky point merge stuff when there is any kind of overlap, especially in turnouts. So, I typically just do the straight side of the turnout as one line and the diverging as another, process and export them separately, then do all the other work in Civil3D. The Gedo software has issues with lines with a lot of locations. One of the first jobs we did, I had to send them the data collector file because it would not export the .xml file.
In your picture, are you using both the robot and GNSS?
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Thank you. I enjoy seeing other places as well. All I typically see now are tracks, and tracks, and tracks….
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Thank you. I enjoy seeing other places as well. All I typically see now are tracks, and tracks, and tracks….
I can understand your lament. Nearly all of my work nowadays involves aerial power transmission and distribution…all I typically see now is poles, poles and poles… 😉 But I don’t let that get to me. With an attitude like that I guess I could eventually say “all I ever see is property markers, property markers and property markers..”.
There is something special, perhaps even noble, about specializing in one of an infinite number of tasks we as surveyors perform. My utility clients have a specific need for reliably concise data and I provide this in a professional manner. Long term working relationships foster a level of understanding that allows the client to fully optimize your services. Even though it seems the ‘scenery’ is always the same; each job is unique in its requirements and the merits needed to perform the work professionally.
When I began surveying I worked for a civil engineering consultant. All the work was private and commercial development driven. When development went away we all cried because there was “no work”. There was indeed no work, but only in that corner of the broad field of land surveying. There is (and will always be) the need for professionally delivered field data no matter the flavor of your client’s business. It is up to us as a profession to find those niches and establish a standard of reliability for clientele. These are jobs that drive the expansion of our profession. And that expansion is what will keep our profession alive and current.
I read a lot of posts here by surveyors with heartburn given to them by private land owners that are na??ve with the process of boundary location and the business of land surveying in general. Almost every time you work for a private property owner they require various levels of ‘schooling’. It can get old after a while and it seems they always howl about the fees.
In my business working with the same clients daily is refreshing…and the invoice/ payment process is routine…even if all I ever see is poles, poles and poles… 😉
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Turnouts are a big problem with the Amberg as well. Not so much the merging since the software smooths each track individually. The problem is more along the lines of the multiple passes needed to keep the gauge roller on the correct side of the frog. As for the photo, I was using GNSS when the sky was open and the instrument for GNSS hostile areas and stations.
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I didn’t really mean it as a complaint. I get to see some stuff other people will never be able to. Before the Railroad, I did a pretty wide variety of surveying. Just miss the other stuff sometimes.
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I didn’t really mean it as a complaint. I get to see some stuff other people will never be able to. Before the Railroad, I did a pretty wide variety of surveying. Just miss the other stuff sometimes.
I know. And you’re right, there are some things one misses…
But I’ve survived all these years by “getting my mind right”. I’ve endured more bouts with “burn-out” than fingers on both of my hands. One has to keep focused to keep working.
Keep sending pics! Most of us get ‘runtoff’ by the track police when we see places like those. 😉
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The other day I mentioned to coworkers that I had, in the past, worked in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. They were interested in what that was like. The first day was interesting, the second day was cold, wet, and dreary, and by the third day I was ready to go home.
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