Learn about the vital role surveyors play in maintaining and improving North Carolina's rail corridors.

NCRR worked with contractors to survey the historic centerline of the railroad corridor. This project was a combination of LiDAR data collection and conventional (GPS) surveying to locate existing tracks as well as portions of historic centerline that no longer coincide with existing tracks. The end result is a comprehensive centerline survey that serves as the basis for the NCRR corridor location (for typical 200’ wide corridor).

NCRR recorded surveys for sections of corridor that has centerline that no longer coincides with existing track. These surveys would be available in the corresponding county’s register of deed’s office. For sections of corridor centerline that have never been purposely re-engineered (still in original location), NCRR can provide centerline data in CAD format that contains coordinate geometry. In some cases, the centerline survey information allows surveyors to recreate the railroad corridor without having to set foot in the corridor.

In addition to the centerline survey, NCRR has had geodetic monumentation installed on either side of the 200-feet-wide corridor at approximately ½ mile increments (where feasible). These monuments are established by NOAA NGS-58 guidelines for 2 cm accuracies, or “Bluebooked”. Although these monuments are not placed at meaningful points in the corridor geometry (point of curve, etc.) they will help supplant older monumentation that is inside of the railroad operations safety envelope which is often difficult to recover without trespassing or applying for a right of entry permit.

NCRR has worked with contractors and the NC Geodetic Survey to accomplish this project, which is a useful addition to an already reliable control network in North Carolina. These monuments are available through the NGS Database as well as the NCGS Database.

There are areas of the NCRR corridor that are not a uniform 200-feet-wide. These areas consist of old depot lots, track straightening projects, and some urban areas in cities such as Raleigh, Salisbury, Kinston, and New Bern. In these areas, NCRR has made the effort to modernize the survey record and have boundary surveys produced. In many instances, in depth title research is required due to the complexity that often accompanies property boundary survey work along a railroad. NCRR has recorded these new surveys in their respective county’s register of deed’s offices so that future generations will have an accurate record of the property.