[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 34413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9277]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration 
(FRA) received a request for a waiver of compliance from certain 
requirements of its safety regulations. The individual petition is 
described below including, the party seeking relief, the regulatory 
provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested, and the 
petitioner's arguments in favor of relief.

Minnesota Transportation Museum, Inc

[Docket Number FRA-2006-24774]

    The Minnesota Transportation Museum (MTM) seeks a waiver of 
compliance from certain provisions of 49 CFR part 232, Brake System 
Safety Standards for Freight and Other Non-Passenger Trains and 
Equipment. Specifically, Sec.  232 Appendix B, part 232, prior to May 
31, 2001, Sec.  232.17(b)(2) for passenger car maintenance 
requirements.
    MTM is a non-profit corporation that operates a historical and 
excursion train as the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway between 
Dresser, Wisconsin and Withrow, Minnesota, a distance of 25 miles, over 
Canadian National track. Operation of this train is from mid-April to 
the end of October on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, for a total of 
approximately 70 operating days. MTM currently operates one passenger 
coach equipped with LN type brakes that requires a clean, oil, test and 
stencil (COT&S) every 12 months, as prescribed in the Manual of 
Standards and Recommended Practices of the Association of American 
Railroads, S-045, last published in 1984. MTM is requesting that a 
waiver be granted to extend the COT&S time period from 12 months to 24 
months. This would give MTM the ability to operate for two operating 
seasons between COT&S events, which would also provide a savings of 
$244 per year in COT&S costs for this non-profit organization.
    MTM declares that safety will not be compromised if this waiver is 
granted, based on their 15+ years of experience with the LN type brake. 
MTM states that previous COT&S events have found the lubricant to be 
fresh with no detectable signs of deterioration. MTM also notes that 
since the LN brake was developed in the 1920's, there has been 
considerable improvement in lubricant quality and considerable 
improvement in all of the flexible gasket and ``O'' ring type materials 
that makes up the LN Brake.
    Interested parties are invited to submit written comments to FRA. 
All written communications concerning this petition should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g., Docket Number FRA-2006-24774) and must 
be submitted in triplicate to the Associate Administrator for Safety, 
Federal Railroad Administration, 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590-0001. Comments received within 45 days of the date of this notice 
will be considered by FRA before any final action is taken. Although 
FRA does not anticipate scheduling a public hearing in connection with 
these proceedings, if any interested party desires an opportunity for 
oral comment, they should notify FRA in writing before the end of the 
comment period and specify the basis for their request.
    All written communications concerning these proceedings are 
available for examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) 
at the Central Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 
400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC, 20590. All documents in the public 
docket are also available for inspection and copying on the Internet at 
the docket facility's Web site http://dms.dot.gov.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) at http://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 9, 2006.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. E6-9277 Filed 6-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P