My firm has been retained to do some topo work within the UPRR right-of-way. I have the required entry permit, but will have to pay for a UP flagman to accompany us while we work. My client is picking up the tab, but so far UP hasn't told me how much it'll be. I'm curious about what this will add to the bill, and wonder is anyone here has recent experience with RR flagmen.
Thanks.
For BNSF we have been charged about $800 per day. I'm not sure what UP is charging though.
I don't have any experience with UPRR but I have with other RRs. The flaggers usually cost more than my 2 man crew.
Some things just don't seem right.
JP
3 months ago in San Antonio - $700/day - ouch
> I don't have any experience with UPRR but I have with other RRs. The flaggers usually cost more than my 2 man crew.
>
> Some things just don't seem right.
>
> JP
🙁 🙁 :bad: :bad:
Are you just in the ROW or will you be fouling the track?
You mean we can go wave a flag and make more than we do after years of education and experience? I wish my high school guidance counselor would have told me about that! WOW
A RR Flagman actually controls the movement of the train. I believe that is you are not constantly fouling the track, you can get by with a properly trained watchman, who can be one of your employees. It is important that this be his only duty though.
What a racket. I recall one project that we did involving a rail line, one stretch of which that happened to run right adjacent to our office, and we knew for a fact that the line was only used once a month by an industrial facility further down. Yet the rail company sent out a dinky little locomotive and had it randomly tooling back and forth nonstop, hauling nothing, doing nothing but waste time and money, for the entire duration of the project.
If you are within 25 feet of the track you will need a railroad provided lookout. In some really special situations with some special training you can work under 'loan worker' regs. I have not been able to do this on a main line railroad in over ten years and we do a large amount of rail work.
Most of our work is for the railroad so we usually do not pay for our protection but in a few occasions the bill has been mistakenly sent to us. The cost is usually more that our field costs.
Good luck
> Are you just in the ROW or will you be fouling the track?
Fouling the track pretty much all the time -- doing a topo for design of at-grade crossings.
I only learned today that "fouling the track" is a term of art referring to the location of personnel or equipment such that either might be struck by a train. Before looking it up, I envisioned the elimination of human waste...