"FRA proposes to amend its freight car safety regulations to repeal the requirement for special approval to place or continue a freight car in service if it is more than 50 years old or equipped with any design or type component listed in appendix A to this part. Instead, railroads would be able to continue or place such “overage” cars in service after complying with uniform safety requirements. Those requirements would include comprehensive shop inspections by a designated inspector, single-car air brake testing, recordkeeping, and, as appropriate, stenciling." https://www.federalregister.gov/documen ... -years-old
From 07/01/2025, but this is the first I had heard. I don't know if it was ever finalized. The 50 year rule always seemed arbitrary to me.

A number of railroads that do photo freights with elderly freight cars should be able to benefit from rule changes. As someone who patronizes a lot of such events, I have always thought it odd that some freight cars were restricted from operation or limited to yard moves because of FRA regulations. But yet, the railroads or museums could put patrons on 1880s-vintage passenger equipment with no such restrictions. It's about time someone looked at the sanity of such rules.

/Kevin Madore

50 years ago, it probably made sense to push 50 year old cars out of service.

The revision of this rule was a task of the Tourist-Historic Working Group of the FRA Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) almost 10 years ago. The group, working with FRA prepared the proposed language of the rule change which was approved by the full RSAC but never went anywhere with FRA after the change in administrations.

Basically the proposed revised rule codified the language, mechanical inspection requirements and restrictions that would be outlined in the FRA response to the railroads petition letter as currently required. It has been complete for years but forgotten among the RSAC disbandment, reorganization, and politics of FRA.

MD Ramsey

My understanding is that the 50 year rule applies to cars moving unrestricted in interchange service between and among the carriers.

Carrier may have older equipment that is restricted to their own property.

The regulation applies to each railroad freight car in service on Standard gage track of a railroad or any other standard gage track while the car is being operated by or is otherwise under the control of a railroad. Industrial operations are excluded.

The 50 year old restrictions still apply to "general system" and "non-insular" tourist operations that use converted freight equipment for tourist/excursion operations or that operated freight cars with tourist/excursion equipment.

They can still operate the cars as per the requirements of the rule but have to petition FRA to do so with specific basic requirements for maintaining the equipment.

MD Ramsey