Location: Larimer County (and Zoom), 200 W Oak St., #3100, Fort Collins, CO 80521
Event Description
Northern Chapter PLSC - Railroad Seminar
May 27, 2026 8AM-12PM
4.0 CE Hours
Larimer County and Virtual via Zoom
This presentation for the Northern Chapter is not the AREMA Course for Railroad Surveying 101, What it is instead is a look what the Colorado Surveyor needs to do to gather railroad related evidence in Colorado and in particular in the area associated with the Northern Chapter of PLSC. It also is a four-hour discussion on avoiding the traps, false impressions, old wives tales and misconceptions that plague surveyors in this state.
Charlie Tucker is well known to the Colorado-Kansas surveying community from his stint(s) as surveyor, field engineer, office engineer and roadmaster at La Junta, Colorado for the Santa Fe Railway (now BNSF). With the Santa Fe, Charlie worked extensively with the survey community in Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and California for 15 years on a variety of unique and interesting projects. At Santa Fe, he had participated in the construction of new lines, enlargement of tunnels, construction and oversight of public works projects, intermodal facilities as well as having been the maintenance supervisor in charge during the 1989 California “World Series Earthquakes”, the LA “King” Riots, multiple fires floods and other calamities. He has the unique experience of having worked in the design, construction, maintenance and public works disciplines within the railroad industry.
Since joining the consulting community in 1996 with Benchmark Surveying/Farnsworth Group, Charlie has worked extensively in Colorado and many other states (Washington to Maine, Illinois to Texas) working with the railroad industry, state agencies and as a railroad expert for other consultants.
Mr. Tucker is a 1980 Graduate of The Ohio State University with BS in Surveying. (One of the first dozen to graduate from the program.) He also attended the University of Cincinnati’s Civil & Environmental Engineering program prior to transfer to Ohio State.
Mr. Tucker is a member of NSPS, GLIS/ACSM, PLSC (Southern & Central Chapters) & AREMA (American Railway Engineering & Maintenance Association, Committees1 (Roadway & Ballast) and Committee 18 (Shortline and Light Density Railways – Secretary 2002-2005, 2017-present) Mr. Tucker has been teaching Railroad Surveying 101 as a volunteer for AREMA Committee 1 since 2000 (26 states, CDOT and BLM so far) and similar such courses as far back as 1986 for the benefit of the surveying community.
Gary Gable, PLS
Mr. Gable has 52 years of land survey experience with most of it in Colorado. He holds a BS Degree in Geologic Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. He was employed by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in the engineering department for a few years which helped him develop a knowledge of railroad right-of-way and railroad surveying. After a merger he left and took a job with Morrison Knudsen, a construction and engineering company which worked with the heavy rail industry. As a consultant to the rail industry, it gave him experience working in every state west of Chicago on rail projects. With Morrison Knudsen he also gained a lot of expertise in highway surveying and right-of-way development. His clients included CDOT, FHWA, KDOT, MDT and WDOT. He is currently employed as the Director of Business Development at a small DBE Surveying and SUE firm in the Denver Tech Center. For fun he loves photography, outdoor activities, raising miniature schnauzers, and playing with the grandkids, along with being a volunteer at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, CO. He is also a Storm Spotter with the National Weather Service.
