The Nevada City operation is complicated... there are (were) two different railroad groups, the privately owned tourist line associated with the motel, with both 3' and 2' gauge equipment, and the museum, with the museum being under control of the local historical society.

All the 2' gauge equipment (sold) as well as the former Argent 3' gauge locomotive with train (for sale) are property of the privately owned tourist railroad.

NCNG No 5 is property of one of the movie studios, on very long term loan to the railroad museum. The museum also has some West Side Lumber Co. and SP narrow gauge stuff, a former F&CC/NCO coach, and a couple of good replicas of NCNG wooden cars including a caboose and a tank car. They have also created a faux porter with a flash boiler and a blue railcar, subject of some amount of ridicule in the preservation community.

The Wurmunder equipment, plus a few pieces owned by Ken Yeo have been removed, or are being removed. The Porter will be at Ardenwood for Railfair this Labor Day.

The railroad museum never applied for its own 501c3, instead becoming a part of the local historical society. The Society has made some decisions about the museum without understanding the museum, and have allowed things to happen that are inappropriate. The museum has a history of clicks... the faux equipment came as a result of one of these internal groups. There are a few folks about who do good work, and may turn the project around.

When dealing with government inspectors, it is well to remember that they may be clueless or gormless, but they're not powerless. Even if they don't have official jurisdiction over an operation, they can still make life miserable. I don't deal with this aspect of railway preservation--we have museum officers who take care of such matters. If someone were to identify himself to me as "so and so from the State Dept. of Useless Bureaucracy", I would take him to or call up the appropriate person in the museum hierarchy. It may "gravel our guts" to be nice to some twit who couldn't tell a diesel from a diner, but never underestimate the power of government to ruin your day (or year). (for some non-railroad examples, read Lenor Skenazy's Free Range Kids website and book.)

Sandy:

Add another tourist line that operates in two states. Minnesota Transportation Museum operates their "long" excursion ride from Osceola, Wisconsin across the St. Croix river to Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota.

Thanks!

Of course, the first question asked when there is an accident linked to equipment defect or inadequate operator training is, "Why were the government inspectors so lax?"

Recall the Medina, Ohio steam tractor explosion almost ten years ago. Inspectors have a public duty, from experience, to be nosy and picky. The Ohio inspectors are especially sensitive, for good reason.

I don't think any of us are arguing about the need for safety. The problem in this case is a safety organization (CalOSHA) charged in part with inspecting amusement park rides (aka roller coasters) trying to inspect railroads, and charge a fee for the inspection.

1) the amusement park ride inspectors do not have the qualifications or or knowledge to inspect railroad equipment.
2) their motivation in trying to inspect railroad museums is collecting fees, not promoting safety.

On the other hand a different branch of CalOSHA is charged with inspecting pressure vessels. I have no argument with that branch. CalOSHA does have and publish rules about railroads, including some concerning stub switches (allowed, but may need foot guards) but again, a different branch.

California Code of regulations, Title 8, Division 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter 6.2, "Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Orders" primarily requires the owner/operator of a permanent amusement ride (as opposed to a ride that is meant to be moved from place to place like a portable carnival ride) to have original documentation from the manufacturer (with some exceptions when original documents like locomotive construction documents are not available), a documented inspection and maintenance program and a documented training program. For newly constructed rides, Subchapter 6.2 references several ASTM Standards.

I don't believe it was ever intended for the permanent ride inspectors to be intimately familiar with all forms of machinery that may be utilized in the construction of rides to do their jobs. Inspectors want to be able to review the protocols and documents the Regulation requires and have demonstrated to them that the procedures and programs created by the owner/user are being adhered to.

I am not familiar with all the systems in my Honda, but I know if I follow the requirements described by the manufacturer in the manual I'll have years of reliable and safe service. This seems to me the same theory the permanent ride regulations follow.

I completely disagree with the idea that "the motivation in trying to inspect railroad museums is collecting fees, not promoting safety". If this were true inspectors would be showing up at permanent ride parks, including tourist railroads not regulated by the FRA, with far greater frequency. Cal-DOSH is under the same budgetary pressure to reduce man-hours and costs as every other agency in the State. This translates into less inspections and oversight, not more. If DOSH wanted to execute a money grab it would probably do it by inspecting manufacturing facilities and start handing out fines for worker related safety violations. These are much easier to find as even the companies with the best safety records occasionally get it wrong. If a DOSH inspector shows up at a park or tourist railroad that has never before been inspected, it’s a good bet that there was a complaint that triggered the visit.

Respectfully,

S.O.