I couldn't help but notice the jab taken at rail contractors in the last post. If I'm wrong, my apologies. At any rate, I guess our reputation is the same no matter what part of the country we hail from! As one who has worked in railroad construction most of my career, I have to admit I've always found it frustrating when most of my potential and actual customers laugh at me when I submit a report or proposal that honestly addresses their tie conditions or any other conditions for that matter. I generally recommend more work than they are prepared, or can afford, to do. Now I admit, most of the folks I've dealt with through the years are small to mid-size private enterprises who don't have big maintenance budgets, so I can appreciate them not wanting to spend a lot of money all at once on track maintenance. However, the truth remains that you can only reguage a deteriorating tie so many times before it simply can't take the lateral loads imposed on it, especially with the curvature that this line has on it.
In closing, I've never been one to try and leave more work for myself in the future with a particular customer. I'd rather fix it once the right way, and have a satisfied customer that knows they won't this problem again for some time. Personally, I believe I've lost more work than I've gained because I tell customers exactly what they need and as a result, I don't believe I've ever gotten a call from an irate customer whose track failed them within a reasonable period of time after we completed the agreed-upon work.
I have one strong recommendation to rail operators who rely on outside contractors for their track maintenance: do no pit competing contractors against each other by asking each of them to walk your tracks and make their own recommendations. Surely, one of them will tell you exactly what you want to hear and you'll award a contract to the low-ball bidder. Instead, pay for a thorough track evaluation and inspection if you don't have a qualified and competent track person, and keep them accountable for their recommendations. Then, let your approved contractors bid on a level playing field.
Finally, for those that are under FRA jurisdiction, they are only your enemy if you try to play games with them or hide information from them. I know of tourist operators who will never have an approved steam locomotive on their line because they currently try to dodge the rules with their current level of operation regarding rolling stock and track and the FRA won't ever forget that!
Anyhow, I could go on and on but I'd better get off my soapbox now before the target on my back gets any bigger!
Rob (not afraid to show my true identity) Gardner
