Is there anywhere on the web were I can read the new Steam Regulations by the FRA. I'm an interview for a magazine article I am writing and need some background info.

Thanks

P.S. The article is about some difficulties Museums have run in to with the Regs. ie. the Nevada Northern is in the process of re-fuling #93, after it has been almost completely rebuilt (because of the 1994 accident on NNRY) in 1996. #40 will need refluing next fall only after having been reflued in 1998.

Terry,

Please e-mail me offlist. I have an Adobe Acrobat copy of the regs as well as other sources than the FRA for the regulations.

P. Kurilecz

pkurilecz@yahoo.com

Try this url. It can also be found by going here and entering "49CFR230"

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html

Is there anywhere on the web were I can read
> the new Steam Regulations by the FRA. I'm an
> interview for a magazine article I am
> writing and need some background info.

> Thanks

> P.S. The article is about some difficulties
> Museums have run in to with the Regs. ie.
> the Nevada Northern is in the process of
> re-fuling #93, after it has been almost
> completely rebuilt (because of the 1994
> accident on NNRY) in 1996. #40 will need
> refluing next fall only after having been
> reflued in 1998.


http://www.train.org/steamregs.htm
SZuidervee@aol.com

The FRA steam regulations, among other FRA rules, such as locomotive engineer certification, are available on the Tourist Railway Association, Inc. Website.


http://www.train.org
webmaster@train.org

Reader RR#4 now in service in Mt Dora Florida was just rebuilt last years(tubes, tires, everything) and the inspector told them to go ahead a use the OLD form 4 when doing the rebuild.Guess what? Now they want a recalculation.

Call 501 624 6881ask for Richard
Dont let the PR crap fool you. The feds want all steam stuffed and mounted, and the economic realityof the new regs bring it closer.

lorija799@aol.com

Due respect, that has not been my experience with the regonal office. The new form has many more calculations required than the old ones, but I am sure anybody with Richards experience who did a complete survey on the engine has all the necessary measurements for the new calculating requirements. You just plug the same numbers into a few more formulae and record the results.

Times of transition are always difficult as everybody tries to find their way, and many things were not completely understood by everybody before the new regs were enacted. I was even told that the final form of the documents hadn't been completed yet. In general, I would recommend insisting on a signed and written document of any statement made by an official from FRA if it goes contrary to the printed regulations.

BTW, I am sitting on a new set of tubes with 3 service days on them put in in the 1980's and recently removed to allow for the internal and non destructive testing to get the necessary measurements for the calculations. Good news is the locomotive is passing with flying colors. Discovering an unsafe condition before it goes critical would also be good news. We need to stop whining and get to work.

Dave

lathro19@idt.net

> Reader RR#4 now in service in Mt Dora
> Florida was just rebuilt last years(tubes,
> tires, everything) and the inspector told
> them to go ahead a use the OLD form 4 when
> doing the rebuild.Guess what? Now they want
> a recalculation.

> Call 501 624 6881ask for Richard
> Dont let the PR crap fool you. The feds want
> all steam stuffed and mounted, and the
> economic realityof the new regs bring it
> closer.

I must respectfully disagree that the only purpose of the new steam regs is to "Stuff and Mount" steam locomotives. Having done a few calculations, putting the MANY hours needed (going back to old ASME Codes to get dome, flue sheet, staybolt,side sheet,roof sheet and crown stay,tube thickness,course thickness,welt thickness,braces,seams,curvatures, etc. formuli) to do all of the many test points and their calculations to get both current and minimum standard for passing at a given MAWP; doing all of this REALLY gives you both a sense of how the boiler is constructed and how safe it is. It's one thing to say a boiler is fine - it's another to KNOW. When we turned in the FORM 4 for the SP&S 700 to the local FRA folks, they grilled us for over an hour to defend and justify the numbers and the laws behind the numbers, and insisted on the calculation sheets to be part of the FORM 4 documentation. Our FORM 4 document measured a half inch thick. Having successfully passed in a deposition-like setting, the FRA said that's fine, now let's go get some coffee, we'll buy. This is not about getting steam stuffed and mounted...this is about my being able to look ANY rider behind the 700 in the eye and saying that I know exactly how strong her boiler is. This is a partnership for safety with the FRA, and should be viewed as a way to forge a good partnership, not as a contest of wills.


johnpcox@juno.com

Let me add my ditto to John's comments. I have now been involved with 3 new Form 4 boiler calculations and in each case, areas that needed either repair or replacement were indentified. We now have confidence that all of these boilers fully meet the original builders design. This is something none of us knew before. I don't believe anyone out there has a copy of the original builder's calculations for their locomotive. It would be great if we did but the reality is otherwise. Sure it is some extra work but it is well worth the effort. Think of the consequences if you don't.

G. Mark Ray, TVRM

aw90h@cs.com

Terry, I think the other folks who responded to your post have made good points about the need to document boiler MAWP and Form 4 calculations, etc.
Standing behind your work is more than just a figure of speech for someone restoring and then operating a steam locomotive.

If you could, would you attempt to cover in your article the common mis-conception that the flue integrity/wear is the issue rather than the schedule for tear-down to allow visual and NDT inspection of the boiler ? A lot of railfans mis-understand the process, how it started and what it means in today's world.
You might provide some context for the article by giving some background information on the way railroads originally planned and set maintenance schedules. Folks today would be suprised by the expected lifespan of a locomotive and the amount of maintenance steam locomotives were expected to require.

Bill

> P.S. The article is about some difficulties
> Museums have run in to with the Regs. ie.
> the Nevada Northern is in the process of
> re-fuling #93, after it has been almost
> completely rebuilt (because of the 1994
> accident on NNRY) in 1996. #40 will need
> refluing next fall only after having been
> reflued in 1998.