Found this on the Altamont Press site (scroll to bottom of link page), about the V&T rebuild project's need to have four miles of donated rail removed very soon from Reno. They need to raise $73,000 just to have the rail taken up and another $14,000 to ship it down to Mound House. Doesn't that price seem a bit steep for such work?

http://railroadnews.net/news/9-9.html
ryarger@rypn.org

> Found this on the Altamont Press site
> (scroll to bottom of link page), about the
> V&T rebuild project's need to have four
> miles of donated rail removed very soon from
> Reno. They need to raise $73,000 just to
> have the rail taken up and another $14,000
> to ship it down to Mound House. Doesn't that
> price seem a bit steep for such work?

That would be over 500 sticks of rail ...thats quite a few truck loads unless you can rail ship and get the scrap rate. Any job with a deadline gets expensive. Hands off for a contractor to do it = top dollar. Gives you some idea what your volunteers are worth.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

> Found this on the Altamont Press site
> (scroll to bottom of link page), about the
> V&T rebuild project's need to have four
> miles of donated rail removed very soon from
> Reno. They need to raise $73,000 just to
> have the rail taken up and another $14,000
> to ship it down to Mound House. Doesn't that
> price seem a bit steep for such work?

Not really. It takes a lot of time, labor and machinery to unbolt the rail, pull the spikes, load everything, sort the pieces (nuts, bolts, washers, spikes, anchors, tie plates, etc.; gather it all up, load it, haul it, unload it, stack it, and clean up the mess left over (chunks of ties, etc.) when the work is done. Takes trucks, drivers, cranes, crane operators, ground men, fuel, insurance, and maybe even union pay rates, work rules and benefits.

Whether or not it's union labor, just renting the equipment involved is not cheap. Sounds to me like they might be getting something of a bargain.

> Not really. It takes a lot of time, labor
> and machinery to unbolt the rail, pull the
> spikes, load everything, sort the pieces
> (nuts, bolts, washers, spikes, anchors, tie
> plates, etc.; gather it all up, load it,
> haul it, unload it, stack it, and clean up
> the mess left over (chunks of ties, etc.)
> when the work is done. Takes trucks,
> drivers, cranes, crane operators, ground
> men, fuel, insurance, and maybe even union
> pay rates, work rules and benefits.

> Whether or not it's union labor, just
> renting the equipment involved is not cheap.
> Sounds to me like they might be getting
> something of a bargain.

I'm sure this is ribbon rail so it will need to
be cut into standard lengths.


alfdoten@msn.com