[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 87 (Friday, May 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26604-26605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6873]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Notice of Safety Advisory 2006-04

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of Safety Advisory 2006-04; Tank Cars with Stub Sills.

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SUMMARY: FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2006-04 recommending that 
owners of tank cars equipped with the ACF Industries, Incorporated 
(ACF) 200 stub sill design, inspect and enhance the underframes in 
accordance with the procedures contained in ACF's Maintenance Bulletin 
TC-200. Owners should contact ACF (see below) for a copy of Maintenance 
Bulletin TC-200 and for clarification of procedures and any additional 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Albert R. Taber or Thomas A. 
Phemister, Railroad Safety Specialists (Hazardous Materials), Hazardous 
Materials Division, Office of Safety Assurance and Compliance, Federal 
Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1120 
Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20590-0001 (telephone: (202) 493-
6254 or (202) 493-6050; e-mail: [email protected] or 
[email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Since 1990, FRA, in conjunction with Transport Canada, has 
documented approximately eleven known defects on tank cars built with 
the ACF 200 stub sill design (ACF-200 tank cars). These defects 
included tank head cracks, pad to tank cracks, sill web cracks, and 
tank car buckling that in some instances led to hazardous materials 
incidents. In addition, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) 
Stub Sill (SS-3) inspection data related to ACF-200 tank cars shows 
significant percentages of longitudinal weld cracks located in the pad 
to sill area, and parent metal cracks in the pad. These cracks present 
a possible source of the loss of tank integrity which could lead to 
unintended releases of hazardous materials from ACF-200 tank cars.
    On November 15, 2005, FRA representatives met with officials 
representing the original builder of the ACF-200 tank cars to discuss 
the evolution of the design, areas of concern, and proper 
modifications/enhancements to the sill of ACF-200 tank cars to ensure 
structural integrity while transporting hazardous materials by rail. At 
this meeting, FRA learned that the safety concerns with the ACF-200 
stub sill design are fatigue related which could be addressed through 
periodic inspection and modification of the tank cars at certain 
intervals determined by mileage and re-qualification inspection and 
maintenance dates. Specifically, FRA learned that the fatigue-related 
safety concerns with the ACF-200 stub sill design can be eliminated by 
modifying the underframe of the tank car in accordance with ACF's 
Maintenance Bulletin TC-200 (ACF Style 200 Stub Sill Underframe 
Enhancement, issued in May 1994) and installing the P470 angle 
application head brace. Once the P470 Angle Application has been 
installed (popularly known as the ``ladder fix''), the underframe of 
the tank car is transformed into what is known as the ACF-270 stub sill 
design. According to ACF, this program of retrofitting ACF-200 tank 
cars to the ACF-270 design, began nearly a decade ago and has

[[Page 26605]]

progressed through the fleet, resulting in the majority of the affected 
cars having already been retrofitted to the ACF-270 design.
    FRA is aware that most interested parties agree with ACF and FRA 
that a retrofit program is the best course of action. Through meetings 
with, primarily, small fleet owners, FRA has learned that many car 
owners have completed, or are making substantial progress on, their 
ACF-200 tank car retrofit programs. FRA recognizes the importance of 
good engineering practice and sill design in conjunction with a 
reliable maintenance plan. For ACF-200 tank cars, FRA agrees with ACF 
that the program established by Maintenance Bulletin TC-200, augmented 
by the P470 Angle Application, represents good engineering practice and 
a material safety enhancement. This Safety Advisory recommends that 
owners of unmodified ACF-200 tank cars bring these cars into conformity 
with Maintenance Bulletin TC-200 and the P470 Angle Application at the 
earliest practicable date.
    Recommended Action: Based on the need to achieve the maximum level 
of safety possible in the railroad tank car transportation industry and 
to enhance the public's confidence in that level of safety, FRA makes 
the following recommendations:
    1. ACF-200 tank car owners should enter into discussions with the 
car builder and decide the best course of action with regard to 
inspection of and modifications to tank cars built with the ACF-200 
stub sill design and not yet retrofitted to the ACF-270 design. Copies 
of the ACF Maintenance Bulletin TC-200 and the P470 Angle Application 
are available from--Director of Customer Service, American Railcar 
Industries, 100 Clark Street, St. Charles, MO 63301-2075. http://www.americanrailcar.com.
    2. ACF-200 tank car owners should modify ACF-200 tank cars to the 
ACF-270 design at the earliest of any of the following events:
     A tank car is due for re-qualification under 49 CFR 
180.509;
     A tank car is recalled under an AAR Maintenance Advisory 
requiring modification in the draft sill area;
     A tank car has been in service for 150,000 miles; or
     A tank car requires general repairs and the repairs 
consume (or are expected to consume) at least 36 hours.
    3. First priority in modifying unretrofitted ACF-200 tank cars to 
the ACF-270 design should go to cars in the general service fleet and, 
then, to the pressure car fleet.
    FRA policy is that the owner of the car's reporting marks is the 
owner of the car and primarily responsible for maintaining the car in a 
safe and compliant condition. However, for purposes of this Safety 
Advisory, FRA would expect cooperation from the entity who controls the 
usage of the car in day to day operations, from the lessee/shipper, and 
from the title holder of the car. Although FRA does not see the need 
for further regulatory or enforcement action at this time, FRA will 
continue to monitor the status of ACF-200 tank cars in the hazardous 
materials industry and will take any necessary regulatory or 
enforcement action to ensure the highest level of safety on the 
nation's railroads.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 2, 2006.
Jo Strang,
Associate Administrator for Safety.
[FR Doc. E6-6873 Filed 5-4-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P