Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 20 / Thursday, January 30, 1997 / Notices 4569

miles per hour, regardless of any higher

track speed specified by the railroad.

(4) NWP shall provide written notice

of intended movements of the

material(s) to the county or counties in

which the movements shall take place,

as well as to the California Public

Utilities Commission and to FRA’s

Regional Office in Sacramento,

California. Each notice shall state the

material(s) to be moved and the point of

origination and point of destination.

The notice shall be provided no less

than five days prior to the movement.

(5) Prior to any movement, the NWP

chief mechanical officer shall inspect

and certify in writing that any car

carrying the material(s) is safe and in

compliance with applicable Federal

regulations. An inspection and

certification will not be necessary for

any movement for the purposes of

repositioning the car for loading or

unloading when such a movement starts

and ends on the same track and that

track is other than main track.

(6) Any car carrying the material(s)

shall be placed so that inadvertent

movement, inclement weather, or other

occurrence will not cause the car or its

contents to fall in any river, stream or

other body of water.

This limited lifting of Emergency

Order No. 14 is contingent upon NWP’s

compliance with the terms of the relief.

The issuance of this Notice does not

preclude imposition of another

emergency order should NWP violate

those terms.

The restrictions set forth in

Emergency Order No. 14 continue to

apply to all rail transportation of

passengers and of hazardous materials

not for internal use by NWP on that

portion of track between Willits and

Fort Seward, California. Although

Eureka Southern was named as the

respondent in the Order, its terms and

conditions were intended to apply to

any successors. Therefore, the terms and

conditions apply to Northwestern

Pacific Railroad, as the railroad is now

known.

This Order remains in effect on this

track until the NWP, or any successor

thereto, makes sufficient repairs to

receive relief under the provisions of the

Order. Each train movement in violation

of this Order shall subject NWP or any

subsequent owner or operator

committing the violation to a civil

penalty of up to $20,000. 49 U.S.C.

20104, 20111.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on January 23,

1997.

Jolene M. Molitoris,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–2298 Filed 1–29–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

Notice of Safety Bulletin

AGENCY: Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA), Department of

Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of Safety Bulletin.

SUMMARY: The FRA is issuing Safety

Bulletin 97–1 addressing recommended

safety practices for certain locomotives

equipped with emergency MU fuel line

cut-off devices located inside the

locomotive control compartment at a

location which enables the cut-off

device to be activated unintentionally.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Doug Taylor, Staff Director, Operating

Practices Division, Office of Safety

Assurance and Compliance, FRA, 400

Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.

20590 (telephone 202–632–3346).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Preliminary investigatory findings

following the derailment of a run-away

Union Pacific Railroad (UP) freight train

on January 12, 1997, at Hayden,

California, indicate that the emergency

multiple-unit (MU) fuel line cut-off

device (cut-off device) located inside the

locomotive control compartment was

unintentionally activated by the

locomotive engineer. The engineer was

apparently unaware of the activation.

Activation of the cut-off device shuts

down all MU’ed locomotives within a

number of seconds. In this case, all

three locomotives in the train were shut

down. As a result, the engineer lost all

of the dynamic brake retarding effect

being used to control the speed of the

train down a 2.2 percent grade. The

engineer initiated an emergency

application of the train’s air brakes, but

the train continued out of control and

derailed at a siding turnout.

The cut-off device on this locomotive

is located below waist level on the face

of the control stand superstructure on

the engineer’s left side. Although the

plastic guard surrounding the cut-off

device was found broken, a test

conducted on a similar locomotive

indicated that even with the guard in

place it was possible to operate the cutoff device simply by brushing it with a

person’s knee. The locomotive’s

manufacturer, General Motor’s

Corporation, Electro-Motive Division,

(EMD), indicates that at least 365 SD–

60M series locomotives manufactured

for UP are equipped with cut-off devices

similarly located. Information available

to FRA indicates that these locomotives

are identified as UP6000 thru UP6365.

There may be other locomotives with

similar designs on other railroads.

Recommendation

In light of the potential dangers

involved in loss of dynamic braking due

to inadvertent activation of the

emergency MU fuel-line cut-off device

on some locomotives, FRA strongly

recommends that the following safety

precautions be taken:

1. All railroads must inspect all

locomotives to determine if the

emergency MU fuel line cut-off device

is located in such a position in the

locomotive cab that it can be

inadvertently activated by the engineer.

If the device is located in such a

position, the corrective action in

accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3

must be initiated.

2. Relocate the cut-off device to a

location where the device can not be

unintentionally activated, or

Protect the cut-off device in a housing

that prevents unintentional activation.

3. Until the improvements listed

above are made, these locomotives must

not be operated in the controlling or

lead position.

FRA recognizes that there may be

operational conditions under which

these locomotives, while in the trailing

position, must be occupied by

employees. Under these circumstances,

the engineer’s seat must remain

unoccupied to the greatest extent

possible. If such trailing locomotive is to

be occupied, the conductor must brief

all occupants as to the location of the

cut-off device and the need to avoid all

contact with it.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on January 17,

1997.

Bruce Fine,

Associate Administrator for Safety.

[FR Doc. 97–2300 Filed 1–29–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development

Corporation Advisory Board; Notice of

Meeting

Pursuant to Section 10(a)(2) of the

Federal Advisory Committee Act (Public

Law 92–463; 5 U.S.C. App. I) notice is

hereby given of a meeting of the

Advisory Board of the Saint Lawrence

Seaway Development Corporation, to be

held at 2:00 p.m., February 19, 1997, at

The Breakers Restaurant, 1 South

County Road, Palm Beach, Florida

33480. The agenda for this meeting will