[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 71 (Friday, April 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19930-19931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7682]


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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) has received a request for a waiver of compliance from certain 
requirements of its safety standards. 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.

Lavacot Locomotive Works, Inc.

Docket Number FRA-2008-0021

    Lavacot Locomotive Works, Inc. (LLW) requests a waiver from the 
requirement of 49 CFR Section 224.103(b), Characteristics of 
Retroreflective Sheeting; Color. LLW requests that it be permitted to 
use the color red instead of yellow to comply with this rule.
    LLW owns two ex-Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) SD-9 type 
locomotives, which are occasionally leased and used by the Portland & 
Western Railroad in freight service. The Albany & Eastern Railroad and 
the Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad also have used them. All three of 
these railroads are shortlines located in northwestern Oregon. When the 
locomotives were last in SP service, they were numbered SP 4364 and 
4433.

[[Page 19931]]

When delivered from the builder, they were identified as SP 5399 and 
5426, respectively. These locomotives were built in 1955 and rebuilt by 
SP in the 1970s.
    Wishing to acknowledge the historic heritage of these locomotives, 
LLW has returned the ex-SP 4364 to its, as built, ``Black Widow'' 
livery and original number of 5399. LLW intends to repaint and renumber 
4433 similarly. The Black Widow paint scheme consists of a black car 
body with silver ends and a 9-inch red side frame stripe immediately 
below the walkway. The front end, in addition to the silver painted 
nose, has a horizontal silver side stripe above two orange stripes, all 
trailing back toward the cab. The trucks are painted silver.
    Title 49 CFR Part 224, Reflectorization of Rail Freight Rolling 
Stock (Final Rule), does not provide a mechanism for facilitating the 
application of historically correct paint schemes to antique or 
historic rail equipment. LLW states in its request for relief that they 
recognize the importance of the visibility issue addressed by the rule 
and proposes to substitute reflectorized red material meeting the same 
standards, as required by 49 CFR Section 224.103(b). LLW states that 
red reflectorized material is widely used for safety in such 
applications as striping on grade crossing gate arms. Also, the trucks 
of the locomotives are painted silver to enhance visibility.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate 
scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since 
the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. 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 communications concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-
2008-0021) and may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
     Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    Communications received within 45 days of the date of this notice 
will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments 
received after that date will be considered as far as practicable. All 
written communications concerning these proceedings are available for 
examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the above 
facility. All documents in the public docket are also available for 
inspection and copying on the Internet at the docket facility's Web 
site at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written 
communications and 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).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 7, 2008.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E8-7682 Filed 4-10-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P