Mark has been married to Lisa for 27 years. Together, they have two children: Hannah, who is 24 and is currently working on a doctorate in psychology, and Ethan, who is 21 and is currently serving in the United States Air Force as a Crew Chief on F-15 fighter jets while working on a bachelor's degree in business. The family loves the great outdoors and enjoys hiking and exploring National Parks such as Yellowstone, Bryce, and Zion.

 

Mark began working for Union Pacific Railroad in 1995 as a Switchman, Brakeman, and Conductor in the Omaha, NE area. These duties consisted of switching in rail yards, both flat switching and in hump yards, working on local trains, setting out and picking-up cars at stations on the main line, and as a through freight conductor on the mainline. In 2000, Mark received a promotion to Locomotive Engineer. As an engineer, Mark ran trains on the mainline between Cheyenne, WY, and North Platte, NE, and ran switch locomotives in the Cheyenne, WY rail yard. In 2007, Mark received a promotion to Manager of Track Image Recorder / Event Recorder Center at the Union Pacific Headquarters in Omaha, NE. In this position, Mark reviewed and analyzed thousands of Event Recorders for engineer performance and critical incidents and derailments. Mark has reviewed and analyzed thousands of locomotive videos for critical and noncritical incidents. Designated as a 30(B)(6) expert witness and testified on behalf of Union Pacific Railroad. Created and facilitated Event Recorder training for field managers. Conceived and helped to create the Video Vault system and field TIR download system.

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In 2015, Mark took early retirement from Union Pacific and started Pollan Railroad Consulting, LLC. Mark now serves all railroads and industries that utilize railroad switching equipment. Mark has provided services on hundreds of cases and has testified over one hundred times.  

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