[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 12, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26840-26841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11211]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration
(FRA) has received a request for a waiver of compliance from certain
requirements of its safety standards. The individual petition is
described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory
provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested, and the
petitioner's arguments in favor of relief.
Pacific Locomotive Association, Inc.
[Docket Number FRA-2010-0007]
The Pacific Locomotive Association, Inc. (PLA), operators of the
Niles Canyon Railway Museum (NCRY), requests Special Approval to
continue their operation of former freight equipment that was converted
for use as tourist/excursion passenger cars or museum exhibits. NCRY
operates a tourist/museum railroad on approximately 13 miles of former
Southern Pacific Company right-of-way between Niles and Pleasanton,
California. The museum railroad is staffed by volunteer members of PLA,
a non-profit organization since 1965, for historical and educational
purposes and does not interchange freight.
The petitioner requests this relief from the requirements of Title
49 CFR 215.203 Restricted cars, and 215.303 Stenciling of restricted
cars, for both their freight equipment used in their tourist railroad
operations, and for ``photo freights,'' which are non-revenue service
freight trains of antiquated equipment. They provide the public with an
opportunity to view freight trains of a by-gone era for educational
purposes. The cars are operated at a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour
and typically operate at a maximum of 40 total miles distance per day.
There are four classes of cars operated on NCRY: passenger use,
cabooses, freight cars, and roster cars. The cars for passenger use are
open freight cars with seats designed for passenger viewing of the
scenery of the Niles Canyon. These cars carry a total weight,
passengers and seats, of 10 tons which is nominally 25% of their
designed capacity. The cabooses are typically used for small private
parties. Additional seats have been added for patrons and always have a
PLA car attendant on board.
As an operating railroad museum, NCRY has restored some of their
freight cars with the original paint schemes and reporting marks in an
effort to interpret the history of West Coast railroading in the early
20th century. When used in ``photo freight'' trains, these restored
antiquated freight cars are operated empty, and typically, these events
are held only 2-4 times per year. In addition, some of these cars such
as side-dump gondola cars are also used in maintenance-of-way service
to aid in maintain the museum's railroad. The cars listed as ``roster
cars'' are additional equipment that NCRY has available for future
restoration. The equipment will be added to the active roster when the
appropriate repairs or maintenance has been completed.
NCRY operates an annual seasonal train between November 27th and
December 23rd, Friday-Sunday, and the remaining operations on Sundays
with open cars during spring, summer, and fall. An annual ``Steam
Fest'' is another important event held on two weekends in March. This
event involves use of restricted freight equipment converted for
passenger use to achieve the patron capacity necessary. The loss of
seating due to the removal from service of these freight/converted
freight cars would adversely impact NCRY's revenue and their ability to
maintain and preserve the museum's collection.
NCRY has operated since 1988, and continues to endeavor to maintain
all equipment, operations, and track to FRA's compliance standards. To
date, no FRA safety violations have been issued to NCRY, and no
equipment-related derailments or accidents have occurred since May
1988, when the museum began operating.
In summary, NCRY requests relief from the regulatory requirements
of 49 CFR 215.203 Restricted cars, and 215.303 Stenciling of restricted
cars, for antiquated freight equipment used in tourist/excursion
service. A comprehensive listing of the 51 pieces of equipment is
provided at ``Exhibit A'' in Docket Number FRA-2010-0007, including the
reason(s) for their restricted use.
Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings
by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate
scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since
the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested party
desires an opportunity for oral comment, they should notify FRA, in
writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for
their request.
All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-
2010-0007) and may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12-140, Washington, DC
20590.
Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
Communications received within 45 days of the date of this notice
will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments
received after that date will be considered as far as practicable. All
written communications concerning these proceedings are available for
examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the above
facility. All documents in the public docket are also available for
inspection and copying on the Internet at the docket facility's Web
site at http://www.regulations.gov.
Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written
communications and comments received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the document (or signing the
document, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor
union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in
the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477) or at
http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.
[[Page 26841]]
Issued in Washington, DC on May 6, 2010.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program
Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-11211 Filed 5-11-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P