# Union Pacific...BOOOO!!!



## NIMT

For the most part I had loved having Union Pacific Railroad as my next door neighbor.
It’s neat to watch the trains roll by, it was cool to lend a hand and help one of their guys over the winter to navigate the right way with a broken up train that had hit a fallen tree in a blizzard, I even gave him a ride 5 miles up the road in the same blizzard so he wouldn’t have to ride the rear of the train 20 miles to town. I had their track maintenance trucks fly threw my front yard and across my private property even after I told the employee that he couldn't get to the tracks from here, I’ve had their track maintenance crews use my back yard forest as their private outhouse. I’ve had my head almost taken off by flying debris from a passing train. I've been woken up at all hours by a train going into emergency and making some of the loadest coupler crashes I've ever heard, or the engine that decided that it was the right time to blow up a turbo! All of this I take in stride as UP being my neighbor!
And now this note on what happens when the big old UP says $*^@ %@* to the little property owner!
After making several call and finally getting to talk to the right parties at Union Pacific corporate in Nebraska and track side maintenance out of Spokane today they are no longer my nice neighbors. I have never been treated so hostilely in my life and I’ve owned a construction company! I was threatened to be sued and told that that I would have to pay millions of dollars to them if I did anything.
Why all this hostility you might be wondering? Did I threaten to sue them, did I threaten to block their train, and did I threaten to do them any harm at all?
All I wanted to do was make sure that when they logged my property line to make a new easement road and our new driveway that if a tree (and they are BIG) was hanging over our property line from their property that I could cut it down and make it safe to travel down my new driveway (at my expense), and that the trees that are hanging over their property from ours could be safely removed (at my expense). I also asked for a flagger just in case one of these massive trees (2 to 3 foot across and 120+feet tall) decided not to play nice and fell across the tracks that there would not be an issue or an accident. 
Well their answers, threats and callus replies will permanently be etched in my memory. 
They told me that it would require for me to get a bond to protect them. It would cost me $1000 a day for a flagger (that sucker is very well paid) and they would charge me millions if a tree fell on their rails. Ok so that’s business…I guess. The part that really floored me is when I asked what was going to happen when one of their leaning and unstable trees fell onto my property doing damage to my property or god forbid one of us, or what if were to fall on the tracks and derail a train. Their response was, “Oh well we don’t care about that and I guess if it happens you’ll just have to sue us”! 
For all of you that work for Union Pacific and wonder why you aren’t making the money you think you should make or why your retirement is constantly being cut, or why the job is so dangerous this is why. 
Union Pacific would rather they kill, or injure, someone including their own employees than spend a little money in preventing an accident from occurring in the first place. They would rather place blame on someone else or something else other than their lack of response to a situation. To not even come out a look at a situation and make a proper assessment of a possibly dangerous situation or to take any actions to possibly prevent an accident from occurring in the first place is just a testament to their callousness!
It really Sad how the biggest Railroad Company in the US thinks!:thumbsdown::thumbsdown:


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## Ranger

WOW.. I'm sorry you are having to go thru all that. Have you thought about contacting the local news and try to get them involved. It might be worth a shot.


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## shaygetz

Take it to the local press...they love stories like these and it's amazing how quickly those companies become stellar neighbors.


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## gunrunnerjohn

I agree, the news boys love stuff like this.


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## Gansett

I know there's different laws in different states. Here a overhanging limb that endangers your property can be trimmed back to the property line. If a tree is leaning over your property and a licensed arborist verifies that it poses a danger it can be cut down but only by a licensed and insured tree service.
Same with your tree leaning over the property line, you need to have it verified it's a danger and have it removed by a licensed insured service at your expense. They would provide a flagger if needed as part of their bill. You do this as a responsible land owner.

PITA but next time they use your property for a shortcut or bathroom verify it with photos and file a police report that they were trespassing. It is posted no trespassing right? 

Only way you can fight a large corporation, which I've recently learned is a person,,,,,,,,ok nuff of that, is to build a file. Dates, times, incident, photos, names of individuals, plate number on vehicles. 

Personally i've been through this type of mess twice, once on each side. No clue how many times as a adjuster. Extremely important to check and follow state,city,or county law to the "T".

Calling in the news crew is a good idea too


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## tjcruiser

Sean ...

Sorry to hear the news. However ...

Did you tell them you own a WOLF?!?

TJ


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## NIMT

TJ, I didn't think to pull WOLF card... I'm on it!


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## Carl

Your request is not difficult for them to honor. You may have run into a employee that was having a bad hair day. Suggest that you call the Supt. for the area or the Engineering Mgr. for the area and explain, why it would be in their best interest to work with you on this matter.

I have also sent you a PM


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## sstlaure

They'd find themselves facing armed resistance if they tried to access my property after being treated like that.

I'm currently in a fight with a local landowner as well. Back in 2004 a local gravel pit, as a condition of allowing them to open the pit were required to create a lake and 22 residential unit development once they were completely mined out. They finished the mining, then closed up shop without meeting their responsibilities. A new person has now purchased this abandoned pit and now not only wants to mine it for an additional 20 years, but wants to modify the permit to allow backfill dumping into the pit (with the company itself providing the "oversight" of what will get dumped. The depth of this pit exceeds that of my water well and I'm deeply concerned that this dumping will adversely effect the aquifer I pull my water from (as well as all of my neighbors.) This new company has tried to sneak this action through by closed door meetings with Township board members and has gone from applying for the zoning changes/permits just last month to a possible approval of the activity next month (bypassing all of the typical water surveys, safety impact reviews, etc.) They also want to put a haul road onto my 8% grade, crowned dirt road that many use for running, biking, walking their dogs, etc.

This company is going to have a serious fight on it's hand.


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## trnfn69

Sean, if you know where they access your land to cut through or to use it as an outhouse, set up a hidden camera if possible. Get 3 months or more of video evidence, then go to the media and embarrass them. Or try to catch one on camera in the act and let him know you're going public. Is it possible to barricade the route they use to cut through your property?


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