4250 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 25, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 101(2), 1802–1803, 

1811–1813, 1831) 

* * * * * 

■ 24. Amend § 17.904 by revising the 

authority citation at the end of the 

section to read as follows: 

§ 17.904 Review and appeal process. 

* * * * * 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 101(2), 1802–1803, 

1811–1813, 1831) 

* * * * * 

■ 25. Amend § 17.905 by revising the 

authority citation at the end of the 

section to read as follows: 

§ 17.905 Medical records. 

* * * * * 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 101(2), 1802–1803, 

1811–1813, 1831 

PART 21—VOCATIONAL 

REHABILITATION AND EDUCATION 

Subpart M—Vocational Training and 

Rehabilitation for Certain Children of 

Vietnam Veterans and Veterans with 

Covered Service in Korea—Spina 

Bifida and Covered Birth Defects 

■ 26. The authority citation for part 21, 

subpart M, continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 101, 501, 512, 1151 

note, ch. 18, 5112, and as noted in specific 

sections. 

■ 27. Revise the heading of Subpart M 

as set forth above. 

■ 28. Amend § 21.8010: 

■ a. In paragraph (a) in the definition of 

‘‘Eligible child’’ by removing 

‘‘3.814(c)(2)’’ and adding, in its place, 

‘‘3.814(c)(3)’’. 

■ b. In paragraph (a) in the definition of 

‘‘Spina bifida’’ by removing 

‘‘§ 3.814(c)(3)’’, and adding, in its place, 

‘‘§ 3.814(c)(4)’’. 

■ c. In paragraph (a), by adding in 

alphabetical order, the definition of 

‘‘Veteran with covered service in 

Korea’’. 

■ d. Revising the authority citation for 

paragraph (a). 

■ e. Revising the authority citation for 

paragraph (b). 

The addition and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 21.8010 Definitions and abbreviations. 

(a) * * * 

Veteran with covered service in Korea 

means a veteran defined at § 3.814(c)(2) 

of this title. 

* * * * * 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 101, 1802, 1804, 

1811–1812, 1814, 1821, 1831) 

(b) * * * 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1804, 1811, 1814, 

1831. 

■ 29. Amend § 21.8012 by: 

■ a. Revising the section heading. 

■ b. Revising the authority citation at 

the end of the section. 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 21.8012 Vocational training program for 

certain children of Vietnam veterans and 

veterans with covered service in Korea— 

spina bifida and covered birth defects. 

* * * * * 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1804, 1812, 1814, 1821) 

■ 30. Amend § 21.8014 by: 

■ a. In paragraph (a) introductory text, 

first sentence, removing ‘‘Vietnam 

veteran’’, and adding, in its place, 

‘‘Vietnam veteran or veteran with 

covered service in Korea’’. 

■ b. In paragraph (a)(2), removing 

‘‘Vietnam veteran’s’’, and adding, in its 

place, ‘‘Vietnam veteran or veteran with 

covered service in Korea’s’’. 

■ c. Revising the authority citation for 

paragraph (a). 

■ d. Revising the authority citation for 

paragraph (b). 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 21.8014 Application. 

(a) * * * 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1804(a), 1821, 1832, 

5101) 

(b) * * * 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1804, 1811, 1811 note, 

1812, 1814, 1831) 

■ 31. Amend § 21.8016 by revising the 

authority citation for paragraphs (a), (b), 

and (d) to read as follows: 

§ 21.8016 Nonduplication of benefits. 

(a) * * * 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1804(e)(1), 1814, 1834) 

(b) * * * 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1804(e)(1), 1814, 1834) 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1804, 1814, 1834) 

■ 32. Amend § 21.8022(b) by revising 

the authority citation at the end of the 

paragraph to read as follows: 

§ 21.8022 Entry and reentry. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1804, 1814, 1832) 

[FR Doc. 2011–1342 Filed 1–24–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

49 CFR Part 179 

Operating Certain Railroad Tank Cars 

in Excess of 263,000 Pounds Gross 

Rail Load; Approval 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice regarding FRA approval 

for operating certain railroad tank cars 

in excess of 263,000 pounds gross rail 

load. 

SUMMARY: On May 14, 2010, the Pipeline 

and Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration (PHMSA) published a 

final rule amending the Hazardous 

Materials Regulations (HMR) to 

incorporate provisions contained in 

several widely used or longstanding 

special permits that have an established 

safety record. 75 FR 27205 (Final Rule). 

The Final Rule titled, Hazardous 

Materials: Incorporation of Special 

Permits into Regulations, in part, 

amended the HMR to allow certain rail 

tank cars, transporting hazardous 

materials, to exceed the gross weight on 

rail limitation of 263,000 pounds upon 

approval of the Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA). This document 

provides notice of FRA’s approval 

pursuant to the Final Rule of the 

operation of certain tank cars in 

hazardous materials service that exceed 

263,000 pounds and weigh up to 

286,000 pounds gross rail load (GRL). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Karl Alexy (Karl.Alexy@dot.gov or (202) 

493–6245) or Mr. William Schoonover 

(William.Schoonover@dot.gov or (202) 

493–6229), Office of Railroad Safety 

Assurance and Compliance. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Prior to 

the Final Rule, Title 49 Code of Federal 

Regulations Section 179.13 of the HMR 

limited rail tank cars transporting 

hazardous materials to a maximum 

capacity of 34,500 gallons (130,597 L) 

and, with certain exceptions, a GRL of 

263,000 pounds (119,295 kg). 

As noted in the preamble to the Final 

Rule, PHMSA has granted several 

special permits allowing tank cars 

subject to the 263,000 pound GRL limit 

of § 179.13 to weigh up to 286,000 

pounds (129,727 kg) GRL subject to 

certain conditions. The Final Rule 

amended § 179.13 to allow, upon 

approval by FRA’s Associate 

Administrator for Railroad Safety, rail 

tank cars that are not transporting 

materials poisonous by inhalation (PIH) 

materials to exceed the 263,000 GRL 


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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 25, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 4251 

1This AAR standard actually references tank cars 

with a ‘‘GRL greater than 268,000 lbs,’’ but FRA 

understands that the reference to ‘‘268,000 lbs’’ is 

a typographical error and the intent of the standard 

is to address tank cars with a GRL greater than 

263,000 lbs. 

2 ‘‘Overpackaged’’ means the specification of the 

tank car was above the minimum requirements of 

the HMR. For example, a commodity that is allowed 

to be transported in a general purpose tank car is 

transported in a pressure car with a thicker tank 

shell. 

limit and weigh up to 286,000 pounds 

GRL without a special permit. Revised 

§ 179.13(a) further provides that FRA 

may impose conditions on these 

approvals and the tank cars ‘‘must be 

operated only under controlled 

interchange conditions agreed to by 

participating railroads.’’ In adopting this 

amendment, PHMSA noted that FRA 

has already established safety-based 

guidelines for applications for authority 

to transport rail tank cars that exceed 

263,000 pounds and rationalized that 

providing for FRA approval of these 

tank cars will simplify and expedite the 

regulatory process while at the same 

time maintain safety. 

This document provides notice of 

FRA’s approval pursuant to revised 

§ 179.13(a) for the use in hazardous 

materials transportation of certain tank 

cars which exceed 263,000 pounds GRL 

and that may be loaded up to 286,000 

pounds GRL, provided the cars are not 

loaded with PIH materials. Specifically, 

this document provides notice of FRA’s 

approval pursuant to § 179.13(a) of (1) 

existing tank cars that are approved to 

operate in accordance with a PHMSA 

special permit allowing a GRL over 

263,000 pounds; (2) cars that have been 

built, rebuilt, or otherwise modified for 

operation with a maximum GRL above 

263,000 pounds, but not currently 

approved to operate in accordance with 

a special permit allowing the increased 

GRL; and (3) newly manufactured tank 

cars designed to operate with a GRL 

above 263,000 pounds. 

Subject to the conditions specified 

below, railroad tank cars meeting the 

requirements in Sections II, III and IV, 

below, are approved, pursuant to 

§ 179.13(a), to be loaded to a GRL of up 

to 286,000 pounds. No additional 

approval is required. 

I. Background 

Since 1995, the Association of 

American Railroads (AAR) has 

maintained an industry standard in the 

form of an interchange rule related to 

freight cars (including hazardous 

materials tank cars) that weigh over 

263,000 pounds GRL and up to 286,000 

pounds GRL. That standard, AAR 

Standard S–259 (S–259)—Rail Car, 

286,000-Lb Gross Weight, became 

effective January 1, 1995. In accordance 

with S–259, the design of a freight car’s 

body must be based on a GRL of 286,000 

pounds and the standard weight-related 

design loads for 100-ton cars used for 

fatigue-design criteria must be 

multiplied by 1.09, with the exception 

of longitudinal fatigue-design loads. S– 

259 also established minimum 

equipment requirements for brakes, 

bearings, axles, wheels, draft systems, 

springs and trucks. S–259, however, 

does not allow for the free interchange 

among carriers of cars meeting its 

requirements. In 2002, AAR adopted a 

revised industry standard related to 

railroad freight cars weighing over 

263,000 pounds 1 GRL and weighing up 

to 286,000 pounds. This revised 

industry standard, AAR Standard S–286 

(adopted 2002, revised 2003, 2005, 

2006), Free/Unrestricted Interchange for 

286,000 Lb Gross Rail Load Cars (S– 

286), is applicable to rail freight cars 

manufactured, rebuilt or modified on or 

after January 1, 2003, and is the existing 

industry standard for designing, 

building, and operating rail cars at gross 

weights over 263,000 pounds and up to 

286,000 pounds. S–286 sets forth 

industry-tested practices for designing, 

building, and operating rail cars at gross 

weights over 263,000 pounds and up to 

286,000 pounds. S–286 provides for the 

free interchange among carriers of cars 

built to meet its requirements. 

As noted in the preamble to the Final 

Rule, FRA’s guidelines, applicable to 

rail tank cars exceeding 263,000 pounds 

GRL, are found in a document titled, 

‘‘Maximizing Safety and Weight, A 

White Paper on 263K+ Tank Cars.’’ This 

document is available for review on 

FRA’s Web site at http:// 

www.fra.dot.gov/Pages/1800.shtml. In 

sum, FRA’s guidelines address the 

following topics: (1) Puncture 

resistance, (2) controlling longitudinal 

loading, (3) structural-worthiness, (4) 

track-worthiness, (5) service equipment, 

(6) service reliability and maintenance 

management, and (7) maximizing safety 

and weight. 

Although FRA’s guidelines address 

more aspects of tank car design than 

either of the AAR standards (including 

the puncture resistance of tank car tanks 

and the reliability of service equipment 

on the cars), existing tank cars built to 

meet the AAR standards have an 

excellent safety record. To date, special 

permits issued by PHMSA, related to 

GRL, in excess of 263,000 pounds GRL 

have required that the tank cars conform 

to either S–286 or S–259. In granting 

these special permits, PHMSA, with 

FRA’s input, determined that in each 

instance, operating the tank cars with 

increased GRLs under the terms of the 

special permit would provide at least an 

equivalent level of safety as tank cars 

built to the minimum requirements of 

the HMR, but limited to a GRL of 

263,000 pounds. In fact, in evaluating 

several special permits related to 

increased GRLs, PHMSA and FRA 

found that the commodities shipped in 

the tank cars were overpackaged.2

Similarly, the agencies found that the 

specifications of the tank cars covered 

by other special permits indicate that 

the tanks were constructed of materials 

with mechanical properties superior to 

the minimum requirements of the HMR. 

In the preamble to the Final Rule, 

PHMSA identified the following special 

permits as those that would be affected 

by the rule’s revisions to § 179.13 and 

thus subject to FRA approval as far as 

the GRL limitations: DOT–SP 11241, 

11654, 11803, 12423, 12561, 12613, 

12768, 12858, 12903, 13856, 13936, 

14004, 14038, 14442, 14505, 14520, 

14570, and 14619. In addition, FRA 

notes that there are five other special 

permits related to tank cars with a GRL 

in excess of 263,000 pounds. These 

include DOT–SP 14167, 14173, 14207, 

14398, and 14734. 

Of the 23 special permits listed above, 

seven authorize the transportation of 

PIH materials in tank cars exceeding 

263,000 pounds. These include special 

permits 12858 (ethylene oxide), 13856 

(Division 6.1 HMs), 14442 (anhydrous 

ammonia), 14520 (chlorine), 14167 

(chlorine), 14173 (ethylene oxide), and 

14570 (titanium tetrachloride). Because 

the Final Rule revised § 179.13(a) to 

provide FRA approval authority for tank 

cars ‘‘other than’’ those that contain PIH 

materials, as the regulation is currently 

written, FRA cannot provide approval to 

continue these cars in PIH materials 

transportation without the existing 

special permits. However, as 

demonstrated by the discussion in the 

preamble of the Final Rule identifying 

the special permits that would be 

affected by the revisions to § 179.13, 

FRA believes that the inconsistency in 

the revised regulatory text is the result 

of a technical drafting error. 

Accordingly, FRA is working with 

PHMSA to develop and publish a 

correction to the Final Rule that would 

provide FRA authority to approve the 

loading of tank cars up to 286,000 

pounds GRL when transporting any 

regulated hazardous material, including 

PIH materials. 

All but three of the 16 special permits 

identified above that do not involve the 

transportation of PIH materials 

authorize the manufacturing, sale, and/ 

or use of particular DOT-specification 

tank cars with a GRL of 286,000 pounds 


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4252 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 25, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

for the transportation of particular 

hazardous materials identified in the 

permits. Special permits 11654 and 

14619 authorize the transportation of 

certain Class 3 hazardous materials in 

DOT 105S tank cars with a maximum 

GRL of up to 270,000 pounds, while 

special permit 14207 authorizes the 

transportation of sodium hydroxide 

solution, a Class 8 hazardous material, 

in certain identified DOT 111A100W 

tank cars with a maximum GRL of up 

to 268,000 pounds. 

The regulations from which grantees 

have been exempted in these special 

permits related to GRL include: § 173.26 

(quantity limitations); and the GRL limit 

of 263,000 pounds in § 179.13. In five of 

these special permits (11241, 11654, 

11803, 12613, and 14619), the grantees 

have been exempted from regulations 

not related to the GRL of the car, and 

these special permits must be 

maintained relative to these additional 

exemptions (i.e., special permits must 

be maintained for relief from regulations 

other than from §§ 173.26 and 179.13). 

Although FRA believes that tank cars, 

which have already been demonstrated 

to provide an equivalent level of safety 

to those specified by the HMR and 

existing tank cars built or retrofitted to 

similar standards, should be allowed to 

continue in HM transportation service, 

with the promulgation of a final rule 

designed to improve the 

crashworthiness and structural integrity 

of tank cars that transport highly 

hazardous materials such as PIH 

materials (HM–246; 74 FR 1770 (Jan. 13, 

2009) (the ‘‘Tank Car Rule’’)), FRA notes 

that there is a widening performance 

gap in crashworthiness between the 

most robust tank cars designed to 

transport certain hazardous materials 

and general purpose tank cars designed 

to transport other hazardous materials. 

Accordingly, subject to certain 

conditions, FRA is providing its 

approval under § 179.13(a) to continue 

in service certain existing tank cars at 

GRLs in excess of 263,000 pounds and 

up to 286,000 pounds. At the same time, 

FRA is providing its approval for certain 

newly manufactured railroad tank cars 

to be loaded at an increased GRL of up 

to 286,000 pounds, provided certain 

additional conditions are met (e.g., 

conditions related to the puncture 

resistance and reliability of the service 

equipment on the cars). Approval of 

newly constructed railroad tank cars 

meeting these additional requirements 

will, over time, narrow the performance 

gap between the most robust tank cars 

in hazardous materials service and other 

tank cars in hazardous materials service 

while research continues to develop and 

implement a crashworthiness 

performance standard as discussed in 

the Tank Car Rule. See 74 FR at 1771. 

II. FRA Approval of Existing Railroad 

Tank Cars Approved To Operate in 

Accordance With a PHMSA Special 

Permit Providing for a GRL Over 

263,000 Pounds 

Pursuant to § 179.13(a), the terms of 

existing special permits 11241, 11654, 

11803, 12423, 12561, 12613, 12768, 

12903, 13856, 13936, 14004, 14038, 

14207, 14398, 14505, and 14734, related 

to railroad tank cars transporting 

hazardous materials other than PIH 

materials and currently approved to 

operate in accordance with a special 

permit providing for a GRL in excess of 

263,000 pounds, are approved, subject 

to the following conditions: 

1. Tank cars constructed, rebuilt, or 

otherwise modified to meet the 

requirements of S–259 shall be operated 

only in controlled interchange in 

accordance with that standard. 

2. Tank cars constructed, rebuilt, or 

otherwise modified to meet the 

requirements of S–286 shall be 

permitted to operate in unrestricted 

interchange in accordance with that 

standard. 

3. Tank car owners are responsible for 

determining which standard their tank 

cars meet. Tank car owners shall 

maintain records demonstrating 

compliance with that standard and 

make those records available to FRA 

upon request. Tank car owners shall 

also ensure that cars subject to this 

approval are appropriately marked in 

accordance with the HMR (i.e., marked 

with the relevant tare weight) and that 

the records of the cars in AAR’s 

Universal Machine Language Equipment 

Register (UMLER) clearly indicate the 

standard applicable to each car. 

4. In accordance with S–286, if a tank 

car constructed in accordance with S– 

259 is rebuilt or otherwise modified to 

meet the requirements of S–286, that car 

shall be permitted to operate in 

unrestricted interchange. Tank car 

owners shall maintain records of the 

engineering analysis and upgrades 

performed that demonstrate compliance 

with S–286, and the tank car owner 

must file an R–1 with the AAR prior to 

the tank car being operated in 

unrestricted interchange. (See Appendix 

R of AAR’s Manual of Standards and 

Recommended Practices, Section C–III, 

Specifications for Tank Cars 

(Specification M–1002)). 

5. The GRL limit for tank cars subject 

to special permits 11654 and 14619 

shall remain 270,000 pounds, and the 

GRL limit for tank cars subject to special 

permit 14207 shall remain 268,000 

pounds; unless the cars are modified 

and a subsequent request for approval is 

made to FRA. 

The ‘‘terms’’ of the special permits 

referred to in this approval are the 

‘‘packaging’’ safety control measures 

specified in paragraph 7 of each special 

permit. For example, special permit 

11241 authorizes the operation of DOTspecification 105J300W tank cars that 

meet certain technical specifications 

outlined in paragraph 7 of the permit 

and have a maximum GRL of up to 

286,000 pounds. Consistent with the 

terms of that special permit, FRA’s 

approval, per § 179.13(a), is limited to 

the identified DOT-specification cars 

meeting the technical specifications 

outlined in the permit. FRA’s approval, 

however, is not limited to the specific 

commodities identified in the permit; 

instead, FRA’s approval extends to the 

use of the identified tank cars with a 

GRL of up to 286,000 pounds for the 

transportation of any regulated 

hazardous material that would 

otherwise be permitted to be transported 

in that type of specification car. Copies 

of the relevant special permits will be 

maintained by the Hazardous Materials 

Division of FRA’s Office of Safety 

Assurance and Compliance. Copies of 

the special permits may be obtained by 

contacting the individuals listed in the 

‘‘For Further Information Contact’’ 

section above. 

Each of the special permits listed 

above require the special permit (or SP) 

number be stenciled on the sides of tank 

cars operating under its terms. For tank 

cars operating under a special permit 

related only to GRL and subject to this 

approval, that stencil must be removed 

or obliterated at the car’s first shopping 

event after the date of this approval, or 

no later than January 25, 2012, 

whichever occurs first. 

III. FRA Approval of Existing Railroad 

Tank Cars Built to S–286 or Rebuilt, or 

Otherwise Modified for Operation With 

a Maximum GRL Above 263,000 

Pounds, but Not Currently Authorized 

To Operate at a GRL Above 263,000 

Pounds 

Existing tank cars built, rebuilt, or 

otherwise modified to meet the 

requirements of either S–259 or S–286 

may be loaded to a GRL of up to 286,000 

pounds subject to the following 

conditions: 

1. Tank cars constructed, rebuilt, or 

otherwise modified to meet the 

requirements of S–259 shall be operated 

only in controlled interchange in 

accordance with that standard. 

2. Tank cars constructed, rebuilt, or 

otherwise modified to meet the 

requirements of S–286 shall be 

permitted to operate in unrestricted 


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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 25, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 4253 

interchange in accordance with that 

standard. 

3. Tank cars shall meet the following 

design specifications or be retrofitted as 

follows: 

a. Jacketed and non-jacketed tank cars 

constructed with ASTM 516–70 steel 

and having only the minimum plate 

thickness required by §§ 179.101–1 and 

179.201–1 (no additional thickness 

allowance) must be retrofitted with a 7- 

gauge steel jacket (constructed of A–572 

steel). 

b. Jacketed and non-jacketed tank cars 

constructed with ASTM B209 (Alloy 

5052 and 5652) aluminum and having 

only the minimum plate thickness 

required by §§ 179.101–1 and 179.201– 

1 (no additional thickness allowance) 

must be retrofitted with a 7-gauge steel 

jacket (constructed of A–572 steel). 

c. Jacketed and non-jacketed 

111A100W tank cars constructed with 

TC–128 steel or an aluminum alloy, 

listed in § 179.200–7 (other than Alloy 

5052 or 5652 listed in b above) and 

having at least the minimum plate 

thickness required by §§ 179.101–1 and 

179.201–1, do not require retrofitting. 

4. Tank car owners are responsible for 

determining which standard their tank 

cars meet and whether their cars meet 

the requirements of Condition 3 above. 

Tank car owners shall maintain records 

demonstrating compliance with the 

relevant AAR standard and the 

requirements of Condition 3. Tank car 

owners shall make those records 

available to FRA upon request. Tank car 

owners shall also ensure that cars 

subject to this approval are 

appropriately marked in accordance 

with the HMR (i.e., marked with the 

relevant tare weight) and that the 

records of the cars in AAR’s UMLER 

clearly indicate the standard applicable 

to each car. 

5. In accordance with S–286, if a tank 

car constructed in accordance with S– 

259 is rebuilt or otherwise modified to 

meet the requirements of S–286, that car 

shall be permitted to operate in 

unrestricted interchange. Tank car 

owners shall maintain records of the 

engineering analysis and upgrades 

performed that demonstrate compliance 

with S–286 and the tank car owner must 

file an R–1 with the AAR prior to the 

tank car being operated in unrestricted 

interchange. (See Appendix R of AAR’s 

Manual of Standards and Recommended 

Practices, Section C–III, Specifications 

for Tank Cars (Specification M–1002)). 

IV. FRA Approval of Maximum GRL of 

286,000 Pounds for Newly 

Manufactured Railroad Tank Cars 

Tank cars manufactured after January 

25, 2011 may be loaded to a maximum 

GRL of 286,000 pounds provided the 

tank cars meet the following criteria: 

1. Tank cars must be constructed in 

accordance with S–286. 

2. Puncture resistance: 

a. Tank car tanks must be constructed 

of TC–128 steel (normalized). 

b. A jacketed tank car must be 

equipped with an 11-gauge jacket 

constructed of A–572 steel and the shell 

and head of the tank must meet the 

minimum plate thickness required by 

§§ 179.101–1 and 179.201–1. Alternate 

thicknesses, based on material 

properties indicated in the notes of 

§ 179.101–1, are not approved. 

c. For a non-jacketed tank car, the 

shell and head of the tank must meet the 

minimum plate thickness of that 

required by §§ 179.101–1 and 179.201– 

1. Alternate thicknesses, based on 

material properties indicated in the 

notes of § 179.101–1, are not approved. 

3. Service Equipment: 

a. Top fittings protection must meet 

the requirements of § 10.2 of Appendix 

E to Specification M–1002 for general 

purpose tank cars. 

b. A tank car must be equipped with 

a reclosing pressure relief device. 

The minimum plate thicknesses 

specified in paragraph 2 above were 

determined in the following manner. 

Using finite elements analysis of side 

impact simulations, a relationship 

between the puncture velocity and shell 

thickness was derived. Factors affecting 

puncture velocity were incorporated 

into the analysis, including gross 

weight, ultimate tensile strength of the 

shell material, tank and jacket thickness, 

tank diameter, and internal pressure and 

indenter size (which for this 

comparative analysis was assumed to be 

12’’ x 12’’). The puncture velocities of 

representative baseline tank cars were 

calculated. The baseline tank cars were 

grouped according to the specified 

thickness requirements of the HMR. 

Additionally, the diameter of each 

grouping was based on a survey of tank 

car specifications. The specification 

grouping, respective diameters, 

thicknesses, materials of construction, 

and working pressures were as follows: 

Tank car specification 

Minimum plate 

thickness 

(in) 

Material of 

construction 

Diameter 

(in) 

Working 

pressure 

(psig) 

111A100W1 .............................................................................................................. 7/16 A516–70 94 50 

105A200W ................................................................................................................ 9/16 A516–70 100 100 

105A300W ................................................................................................................ 11/16 A516–70 117 100 

112A340W ................................................................................................................ 11/16 A516–70 117 100 

111A60ALW1 ........................................................................................................... 1/2 ASTM B209 

(Alloy 5052) 

9 50 

111A100ALW1 ......................................................................................................... 5/8 ASTM B209 

(Alloy 5052) 

94 50 

Through an iterative process, the 

thickness of a tank car with similar 

characteristics, with the exception of a 

GRL of 286,000 pounds, was increased 

until the puncture velocity was the 

same as that for the 263,000 GRL tank 

car. In a similar manner, the equivalent 

single-layer thickness was determined 

for tank cars not equipped with a jacket. 

The same analysis was not performed 

on the head because § 2.5 of AAR’s 

Specification M–1002, requires the tank 

cars to be equipped with c’’ thick head 

shields. 

Failure of a tank car owner to comply 

with any condition of the above 

approvals will deprive the owner of the 

benefit of the approval and, in any such 

instances, FRA reserves the right to take 

appropriate enforcement action, which 

may result in FRA revoking such 

approval. If a party desires to 

manufacture or use a tank car not 

meeting the above criteria, FRA will 

consider such alternative designs upon 

application in accordance with § 179.13. 

Issued in Washington, DC on January 19, 

2011. 

Jo Strang, 

Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety/ 

Chief Safety Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2011–1414 Filed 1–24–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 


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