One thing I should have mentioned. My prior posts on this topic only address the question of what FRA rules apply to "preservation railroads". FRA's overall approach to "non-general system" tourist railroads is to rely more on its emergency authority to address unsafe conditions, rather than require these properties to comply with all of the regulatory minutea applicable to big freight railroads, commuter railroads or Amtrak. That approach is represented in the FRA "Decision Tree" attached to one of the other posts on this thread (by the way, there is a more current version of this document posted on the FRA and ATRRM websites), and in the applicability sections of specific rules, which often exclude non-general system tourist roads (either by specific exclusion, as in the track rules, or by a broader exclusion of railroads operating exclusively in an "installation" that's not part of the general system).

As Mr. Lovejoy properly points out, even where an FRA rule does not apply on its face to a particular tourist railroad, FRA retains the right to issue emergency orders or similar actions against the railroad to address things the agency believes are unsafe. FRA also has broad authority to the right to inspect these properties

I understand that a locomotive on a tourist railroad must also have ditch lights or a Mars oscillating head light in order to go across a public crossing above a certain speed. That speed, as I understand is 20 mph.
Either one or both of these could be wrong, has anybody heard of this?

Tom Hamilton

49 CFR 229.125 and 229.133. Your description is essentially correct. However, note that the "oscillating" light" provision is a "grandfathering" provision. It's permitted only for locomotives equipped with these lights as of the date the auxiliary light requirements of Part 229 became effective (I think it was 1993, but I'm not sure of this). Also, note that Part 229 doesn't apply to railroads that operate only on track that's in an installation not part of the general railroad system of transportation (49 CFR 229.3(b)(1)). As such, part 229 (including the auxiliary light requirements of this part) does not apply to non-general system tourist railroads.

You asked about North America, I know, but..............

The Great Central Railway, UK, is the UK's only double track preserved railway.
Her Majesty's Rail Inspectorate (HMRI) has granted powers to run private test trains at up to 60 mph. Other special trains at public events run at up to 45 miles per hour and passenger trains can pass at a combined speed of 50mph. Typically UK heritage railways are limited to a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour.

I can tell you that same thing happens here... I've seen IRM really "open up" a North Shore car on their railroad, many years ago before these rules came into play.

For the relevant parts of 49 CFR 209 Appendix A, there is no need to read the whole thing, simply click here.

I wouldn't go outguessing Dave Johnston on FRA regs. He's one of the few people I know who's actually sat on FRA committees and had the FRA take his word on what the rule should be.

Appendix A is not a rule per se, but more of an essay on how FRA wants to regulate. The tourist railway letter is not a rule either, but a summation of which rules cut exemptions for tourist railways in their Applicability sections.

What vexes me is when foamers grab a particular rule like "229", and make a beeline for what they perceive of as the "hard rules" in the middle, and completely ignore all that boring administrivia (like Applicability) in the preamble, or 2 FTE's worth of inspection and paperwork requirements farther in. Of course the foamer expects to be the guy flashing the ditch lights and going "woo woo chuggachugga" with one hand on his johnson
bar, not one of the FTE's with a soul-eating paperwork job. Thank God neither is required for tourist railways.

> the UK's only double track preserved railway
Not likely.

Don't discount Bob Opal, he currently serves as Regulatory Counsel for the Association of Tourist Railroads & Railway Museums, Inc. (ATRRM). ATRRM is a member of the FRA Rail Safety Advisory Committee and is usually represented by Bob Opal.

Thanks for the kind replies. I have volunteered on a tourist line for 20 years. We are non-insular and not part of the general system.
I have a couple of more questions.
1. Assuming for a moment that our horns meet the required decibel level, but we do not have ditch lights, is the speed limit across a public crossing still 15 mph or is it 20 mph?
2. Can we borrow a meter and certify our horns or do we have to hire a credentialed business to certify them? How often?
A plaintiff's lawyer would have a field day if you were going 5 mph too fast and had a crossing accident.

Thank you for your help.
Tom Hamilton

Tom,

Ditch lights are required above 20 mph.

A decibel meter and calibration device meeting the standards is not a terribly expensive item. RMNE obtained a pair of these for about $300 all in, as I recall. It's simply another precision tool, to be carefully stored and used by those authorized to do so.

Howard P.

Tom asked:



I doubt it would matter if you had a 'credentialed business' perform a SPL measurement, print up an elegant report with red ribbons, etc.

The lawyers will bring a calibrated sound meter and take measurements. If you have used a sound meter to adjust the horns (and periodically check them) you will have no problems. Yes, I would document that you have checked them as part of your inspection documentation, but I don't see any need to waste dollars on 'experts' to do that.

The info about the "how" is contained in the rule. The location that a horn test is made also figures into the rule. On a 20 mile railroad, we have basically ONE place that meets the test location criteria.

Steam locomotives: no event recorder, no ditch lights, no horn rule, no alerter rule. What's not to like?

Howard P.

Thank you all for clarifying this issue for me.

About 10 years ago I watched the FRA test the decibel level on the 3985. I didn't ask what it was.

Tom Hamilton

No PTC! Hahahaha!

Based on your statement that your tourist road is a non-insular, non-general system property, here are the answers to your questions, together with a brief explanation.

1. There is no "required decibel level" for your horns (except for steam locos, see next paragraph). The "decibel level" requirements are contained in 49 CFR 229.129, which is part of the "Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards." Part 229 as a whole does NOT apply to non-general system tourist railroads (see the section 229.3(b)(2) "Applicability", which makes Part 229 entirely inapplicable to a"a railroad that operates only on track inside an installation which is not part of the general railroad system of transportation." Lest there be a question about whether an "installation" includes a non-general system tourist railroad, FRA has made clear in several rulemakings that it does, including a Part 229 rulemaking.

Steam locomotives are not covered by Part 229 (49 CFR 229.1). Rather, they are covered by 49 CFR Part 230 ("Steam Locomotive Inspection and Maintenance Standards"). Unlike Part 229, Part 230 applies to non-insular, non-general system tourist roads as well as general system roads. 49 CFR 230.85 requires that a steam loco's "audible warning devices" (a fancy term for "whistle") produce a minimum sound level of 96db(A) at 100' in from the the loco in its direction of travel, and also the measurement methodology.

2. The "ditch light"requirement (FRA callls them "auxiliary lights) is contained in 49 CFR 229.125. This section generally requires "each lead locomotive operated at a speed greater than 20 mph over one or more public highway-rail grade crossings" to have operable auxiliary lights. BUT - (i) this doesn't apply to non-general system tourist roads because (as discussed above), Part 229 is entirely inapplicable to these roads, and (ii) it doesn't apply to steam locomotives, which are covered by Part 230 rather than Part 229. Part 230 has no "auxiliary light" requirement for steam locos, either on or off the general system.

3. The 15 mph speed limit you refer to comes from the Train Horn rule, 49 CFR Part 222 ("Use of Locomotive Horns and Public Highway-Rail Grade Crossings"). It's not actually a speed limit. It's an exclusion, which makes Part 222 rule entirely inapplicable to "Passenger railroads that operate only on track which is not part of the general railroad system of transportation and that operate at a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour over public highway-rail grade crossings" (49 CFR 222.5). A tourist railroad can exceed this speed but, if it does, it must comply with train horn rule whistling requirements. Note that the Part 222 train horn rule doesn't contain minimum volume requirements. Those are in Part 229 and 230, as discussed above.

By the way, there also speed related provisions in the Part 234 "emergency notification systems" rule (49 CFR Part 234, Subpart E), which applies to both general and non-general system tourist roads that operate over grade crossings. Without getting too detailed, there are different substantive requirements which apply to roads which operate through crossings at speeds "greater than 20 mph" and those which do not, see 49 CFR 234.303(b).

4. Part 229 and 230 each contain criteria for horn testing procedures. I'm not a technical person, so I can't tell whether the required testing require a "certified" business or can be done by anyone who knows how to operate the equipment. However, I suspect that the typical tourist road can't easily get its hands on the equipment.

One final thing. I believe an earlier note written by Bob Macdowell stressed the need to look at an entire rule, particularly the "applicability" sections of a rule, not just the substantive requirements of a rule, to determine how it would affect a particular property. The above discussion should be a good demonstration of how right he was.

More than you (or anyone else) probably wanted to know.

Bob Opal

Don't be so sanguine about PTC. There are some real issues about how the PTC rule is going to affect mainline steam excursions and other excursions with non-PTC equipped "heritage locomotives" on PTC equipped rail lines.

At the very least, it appears that the rule will require these train movements to be made under the procedures applicable to movement of trains with failed PTC apparatus. That, in itself, is probably doable. But there is a separate, more troubling requirement prohibiting non-equipped train movements in excess of 20 miles in length on a PTC equipped line, which is currently scheduled to become effective at the end of 2020. When FRA wrote this requirement, it probably was thinking about freight operations, not mainline excursions. But the requirement is written broadly enough to apply to both.

There is also an issue whether a railroad will permit unequipped mainline excursions on its PTC lines, even where the rule permits them. I wasn't at this meeting, but I am told that, at a recent ASLRRA meeting, a major railroad indicated it would not permit any non-equipped movements on its PTC equipped lines once its PTC system was up and running. Again, if this statement was made, it's possible the speaker was focussing on freight movements (particularly freight movements by short lines over PTC lines), not mainlie excursions, but this can't just be assumed.

Bottom line is that this is an unfolding drama, and we don't know the final act.

Bob Opal

Mr. Opal said


Fortunately, the technical is not so difficult as to require a 'hygienist' from EHSS to come to your location... :-)

Here is the text for the present (eCFR) version of 230.85:


The fancy standards reference applies to the meter design, not to any special arcane skill or expertise on the part of its user. For anyone interested in becoming more 'technical', FRA itself produces a handy guide (PDF download) -- it's technically directed more at environmental noise, but SPL is SPL):

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CEgQFjAG&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fra.dot.gov%2FElib%2FDocument%2F1692&ei=txydVfXALpTsoASy6YLABg&usg=AFQjCNFztNC6adfNCNm8VqeXDjuyu1MMbg&bvm=bv.96952980,d.cGU&cad=rja

In October 2008, ASLRRA 'Tech Tracks' provided an article by Jeff Cutright of NS on "Locomotive Horn Testing". This is also available in PDF form on the Web:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aslrra.org%2Fimages%2Fnews_file%2FTech_Tracks_October_2008.pdf&ei=qiCdVbX3KYWuogTJ_qC4Bg&usg=AFQjCNFKBUVbFN4UX5DMRblpfiFFHQThkQ&bvm=bv.96952980,d.cGU

There was a patent in 2011 for an automated horn-testing arrangement; the prior-art citations may also be valuable to those with an interest in this subject:

http://www.google.com/patents/US8082795

At least one company makes relatively inexpensive devices that can be used for these measurements. Studio Six Digital makes a $229 device called "iTestMic", which plugs into a smartphone to turn it into an appropriately-calibrated SPL meter. For those subject to 229.129 (who might in some circumstances have to take measurements 15' in the air) they also provide the ability to 'remote' the iTestMic output to a separate device via WiFi. Since this device has internal calibration, it should be easily portable between testing sites, and hence might be a useful 'resource' for one of the organizations representing steam-locomotive operators subject to 230.85 (or, more broadly, any preservation organization that finds itself subject to 229.129). (At that price, I think it's an item that a museum could request specific donation for, or conduct a crowdfunding cmpaign to acquire...)

Note that the use of a calibration standard is specified in 229.129 but not in 230.85. I suspect this reflects that 'maximum' SPL level is now defined for the former, but not the latter (and this shows, imho, good and caring thinking on the part of standards-making committees!)