What are AFEs?

[NW Mailing List]

Someone searching the Archives database asked "What are AFEs"?

Here was my reply:

AFE stands for "Authorization For Expenditures." AFEs were approvals for 
large capital expenditures that required either the company president's 
signature (making it a P.A. - Presidential Authorization) or a vice 
president's signature (V.P.A - Vice Presidential Authorization). For the 
most part these are accounting documents showing how much was authorized 
to be spent and how much the project actually cost.

Sometimes AFEs will contain drawings or maps showing the work to be done.

AFEs can be useful for determining when some change was made to the 
railroad or equipment and how much it cost.

Other details spell out related agreements, who is paying for what, 
motivation for the project, and when old structures and equipment were 
first built or purchased.

Ron Davis