[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 12, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26840-26841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11211]


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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.

Pacific Locomotive Association, Inc.

[Docket Number FRA-2010-0007]

    The Pacific Locomotive Association, Inc. (PLA), operators of the 
Niles Canyon Railway Museum (NCRY), requests Special Approval to 
continue their operation of former freight equipment that was converted 
for use as tourist/excursion passenger cars or museum exhibits. NCRY 
operates a tourist/museum railroad on approximately 13 miles of former 
Southern Pacific Company right-of-way between Niles and Pleasanton, 
California. The museum railroad is staffed by volunteer members of PLA, 
a non-profit organization since 1965, for historical and educational 
purposes and does not interchange freight.
    The petitioner requests this relief from the requirements of Title 
49 CFR 215.203 Restricted cars, and 215.303 Stenciling of restricted 
cars, for both their freight equipment used in their tourist railroad 
operations, and for ``photo freights,'' which are non-revenue service 
freight trains of antiquated equipment. They provide the public with an 
opportunity to view freight trains of a by-gone era for educational 
purposes. The cars are operated at a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour 
and typically operate at a maximum of 40 total miles distance per day. 
There are four classes of cars operated on NCRY: passenger use, 
cabooses, freight cars, and roster cars. The cars for passenger use are 
open freight cars with seats designed for passenger viewing of the 
scenery of the Niles Canyon. These cars carry a total weight, 
passengers and seats, of 10 tons which is nominally 25% of their 
designed capacity. The cabooses are typically used for small private 
parties. Additional seats have been added for patrons and always have a 
PLA car attendant on board.
    As an operating railroad museum, NCRY has restored some of their 
freight cars with the original paint schemes and reporting marks in an 
effort to interpret the history of West Coast railroading in the early 
20th century. When used in ``photo freight'' trains, these restored 
antiquated freight cars are operated empty, and typically, these events 
are held only 2-4 times per year. In addition, some of these cars such 
as side-dump gondola cars are also used in maintenance-of-way service 
to aid in maintain the museum's railroad. The cars listed as ``roster 
cars'' are additional equipment that NCRY has available for future 
restoration. The equipment will be added to the active roster when the 
appropriate repairs or maintenance has been completed.
    NCRY operates an annual seasonal train between November 27th and 
December 23rd, Friday-Sunday, and the remaining operations on Sundays 
with open cars during spring, summer, and fall. An annual ``Steam 
Fest'' is another important event held on two weekends in March. This 
event involves use of restricted freight equipment converted for 
passenger use to achieve the patron capacity necessary. The loss of 
seating due to the removal from service of these freight/converted 
freight cars would adversely impact NCRY's revenue and their ability to 
maintain and preserve the museum's collection.
    NCRY has operated since 1988, and continues to endeavor to maintain 
all equipment, operations, and track to FRA's compliance standards. To 
date, no FRA safety violations have been issued to NCRY, and no 
equipment-related derailments or accidents have occurred since May 
1988, when the museum began operating.
    In summary, NCRY requests relief from the regulatory requirements 
of 49 CFR 215.203 Restricted cars, and 215.303 Stenciling of restricted 
cars, for antiquated freight equipment used in tourist/excursion 
service. A comprehensive listing of the 51 pieces of equipment is 
provided at ``Exhibit A'' in Docket Number FRA-2010-0007, including the 
reason(s) for their restricted use.
    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-
2010-0007) 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 document (or signing the 
document, 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 (65 FR 19477) or at 
http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.


[[Page 26841]]


    Issued in Washington, DC on May 6, 2010.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-11211 Filed 5-11-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P