I received a rather fragmentary report that Hartford Steam Boiler Co. has decided to exit the business of inspecting and insuring locomotive boilers. Does anyone have any more concrete information and/or any thoughts how this action may affect the already beleagured steam railroad hobby/industry?

K$s1361@hotmail.com

I didn't see this announcement on the news section of the Hartford website. Where'd you get this information?

> I didn't see this announcement on the news
> section of the Hartford website. Where'd you
> get this information?

I got an e-mail Friday from a friend in New England which was a bit fuzzy in the details. However, just now I saw an announcement on the "news" portion of the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad & Museum to that effect. This may not bode well for smaller operations.


K4s1361@hotmail.com

Here is the news at Maine narrow gauge. read for yourself. What I cannot understand though is why this RR hasn't been under FRA jurisdiction in the past.

Another solution may be to use an NBIC inspector.

http://www.mngrr.org/news.html

Hi Everyone:

When we were running our steam sawmill (it closed in 1992) we used the American States Insurance Company for our boiler insurance. I don't know how The Hartford structured its policies, but ours only covered us for the replacement value of the boiler. It did not include inland marine liability for consequential damages or personal injury. American States and The Hartford were very convenient because they provided licensed inspectors for the annual inspections. For us the insurance policy was a mere formality since we were mainly interested in getting their inspectors to look at our mill boiler and issue a valid state boiler certificate.

I would recommend getting under FRA jurisdiction if possible because the 49 CFR Part 230 is specifcally designed for steam locomotive boilers. The Form 4 process can be somewhat onery, but remember, if your boiler blows your inspector is only going to read about it in the paper while you will be pretty well scalded to death. It is in the operator's best interest to know what the real condition of his boiler is and what the safe maximum allowable working pressure (MAWP) should be.

Bill Petitjean

> I received a rather fragmentary report that
> Hartford Steam Boiler Co. has decided to
> exit the business of inspecting and insuring
> locomotive boilers. Does anyone have any
> more concrete information and/or any
> thoughts how this action may affect the
> already beleagured steam railroad
> hobby/industry?


petitinc@nwlink.com

> Hi Everyone:

> When we were running our steam sawmill (it
> closed in 1992) we used the American States
> Insurance Company for our boiler insurance.
> I don't know how The Hartford structured its
> policies, but ours only covered us for the
> replacement value of the boiler. It did not
> include inland marine liability for
> consequential damages or personal injury.
> American States and The Hartford were very
> convenient because they provided licensed
> inspectors for the annual inspections. For
> us the insurance policy was a mere formality
> since we were mainly interested in getting
> their inspectors to look at our mill boiler
> and issue a valid state boiler certificate.

> I would recommend getting under FRA
> jurisdiction if possible because the 49 CFR
> Part 230 is specifcally designed for steam
> locomotive boilers. The Form 4 process can
> be somewhat onery, but remember, if your
> boiler blows your inspector is only going to
> read about it in the paper while you will be
> pretty well scalded to death. It is in the
> operator's best interest to know what the
> real condition of his boiler is and what the
> safe maximum allowable working pressure
> (MAWP) should be.

> Bill Petitjean
Don't forget Hartford is not the only boiler insurance co. There are many others. regards bb

staybolt2@netscape.net

Most of the other boiler insurance companies:

AceUSA P & C

Arise Inc

Chubb Group

Cincinnati Insurance

CNA Insurance

Factory Mutual (FM Global)

Heartland Lloyds

Liberty Mutual

National Union Ins Co of Pittsburgh PA

OneBeacon America Ins Co

Royal & SunAlliance Arise

The Travelers

Tokio Marine & Fire Ins Co

Zurich/American