"Do any states have
> grandfather clauses that protect the
> operation of historic equipment from current
> emissions laws (I would hope there are)? Is
> this something the railroad preservation
> community should be concerned about, or am I
> just seeing a problem that isn't really
> there?"
This is a very large area of regulation, involving the Clean Air Act and the Constitution's Commerce Clause at the federal level, and various state and local powers. My vague understanding of federal law is that steam locomotives are unregulated. States have some power to regulate emissions, and so do cities (remember smoke ordinances?) so the issue is at least theoretically a threat to coal-burning operations. Until this post, I had forgotten that Michigan has a state law specifically exempting coal-burning trains from state air-pollution regulation. Locomotives were added to a bill whose real intent was to exempt the coal-burning ex-C&O car and auto ferries at Ludington, so as to make the bill apply more broadly than to one business, but whether for legal or political P.R. reasons, I don't know. I do know that trains weren't added to the law at the request of us or any other Michigan locomotive operators.
In general, I doubt the threat is severe, although I do note that many museum attendees, especially children, have been brainwashed to react to a column of coal smoke with, "Oooh, pollution!"
And in the interest of Michigan tourism, remember that the S.S. Badger's 2004 season has begun, Skinner Unaflows, coal trucks and all.
Aarne Frobom
The Steam Railroading Institute
P. O. Box 665
Owosso, Michigan 48867-0665
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