18276 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 21, 2009 / Notices 

requested, and the petitioner’s 

arguments in favor of relief. 

Georgetown Loop Railroad 

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA–2008– 

0107] 

The Georgetown Loop Railroad (GLR), 

a narrow-gage tourist railroad, 

petitioned FRA for a waiver of 

compliance from certain provisions of 

the steam locomotive safety standards, 

as prescribed by 49 CFR Section 230.112 

(Wheels and tires) and Section 230.113 

(Wheels and tire defects) for one steam 

locomotive used in tourist/excursion 

service. Specifically, this waiver request 

applies to Locomotive Number GLR 12. 

Locomotive Number GLR 12 was built 

in 1927 by Baldwin Locomotive Works 

(BLW), Philadelphia, PA, for the 

Kahului Railroad in Hawaii, and is a 36- 

inch narrow gage. The locomotive was 

used on a shortline in freight and 

passenger service until its retirement in 

the 1950s. It was subsequently sold to 

private individuals and moved to 

California to be used on various tourist/ 

excursion trains. In the 1980s, a new 

boiler was installed and extensive 

repairs were made to the running gear. 

It was used frequently throughout the 

1990s at the Silver Wood Amusement 

Park until its sale to the Colorado 

Historical Society in 2005, and was in 

service on GLR from 2005–2007. 

By letter notification on April 7, 2008, 

FRA brought GLR under the agency’s 

jurisdiction and the boiler is now 

compliant with the applicable 

requirements of 49 CFR Part 230. During 

an inspection of the entire locomotive, 

it was determined that the inside gage 

(back-to-back spacing) exceeds the 

safety limits set by FRA under 49 CFR 

Section 230.112(b). The actual 

measurements for the locomotive are 

331⁄2 inches wide. The allowable range 

under the regulation is 321⁄2 to 327⁄8

inches wide. The locomotive was built 

to BLW’s narrow-gage standards, which 

allow wider back-to-back dimensions 

and narrower flange widths for narrowgage engines. These alternate standard 

dimensions were primarily used in 

areas with prevalent sharp curves and 

poor track conditions. In addition to the 

wider back-to-back dimension used by 

Baldwin, a narrow flange width (new) 

that measures 11⁄8 inches is used versus 

the 11⁄4-inch flange, which is the 

standard AAR narrow flange. 

A second issue with GLR Number 12 

pertains to the requirements of 49 CFR 

Section 230.113(g) regarding the 

minimum thickness of the tire’s flange. 

The regulatory requirement for 

condemning a flange for insufficient 

width is 15/16 of an inch based upon a 

new thickness of 11⁄4 inches. Since the 

new flange thickness on GLR Number 

12’s flanges was 11⁄8 inches, GLR 

requests that the condemning limit for 

this locomotive be 13/16 of an inch 

based upon the reduced initial width. 

GLR stated that they have safely 

operated this locomotive for several 

years without any wheel problems prior 

to coming under FRA’s jurisdiction. 

GLR believes that there is no practical 

way to modify the chassis components 

to comply with the regulatory 

requirements as the basic design of the 

locomotive’s brake and spring rigging 

and driving boxes will not allow the 

driving tires and wheels to be 

significantly modified. 

In summary, GLR requests relief from 

the regulatory requirements of 49 CFR 

Sections 230.112 and 230.113 to allow 

GLR Number 12 to be maintained to 

BLW standards for narrow-gage 

locomotives, as stated above. 

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– 

0107) 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 15, 

2009. 

Grady C. Cothen, Jr., 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety 

Standards and Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–9140 Filed 4–20–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

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. 

Association of American Railroads 

(Docket Number FRA–2009–0004) 

The Association of American 

Railroads (AAR), on behalf of itself and 

its member railroads, seeks a waiver of 

compliance from certain provisions of 

the Railroad Locomotive Safety 

Standards, 49 CFR Part 229. 

Specifically, AAR requests to change the 

time interval requirements of 49 CFR 

229.27 Annual Tests and 49 CFR 229.29 

Biennial Tests for all locomotives 

equipped with 26–L type brake systems, 

without air dryers, by extending the 

testing interval to 4 years. 

On May 12, 2005, AAR petitioned for 

an industry-wide waiver of annual and 

biennial testing requirements for 

locomotives equipped with both the 26– 

L brake systems and air dryers. This 

request was based on the test data 

gathered by the Canadian railroads and 

waivers which were previously granted 

to both the Canadian National and the 

Canadian Pacific Railroads. On 

December 2, 2005, FRA granted a 

conditional waiver to extend the time 

limits of the required tests to 4 years. 

AAR believes it is now time to grant a 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 21, 2009 / Notices 18277 

waiver extending the time requirements 

to 4 years for annual and biennial 

testing on locomotives that are not 

equipped with air dryers. 

AAR proposes two alternatives for 

FRA to consider. The first is to expand 

the current waiver, Docket Number FRA 

2005–21325 for locomotives equipped 

with air dryers to include locomotives 

not equipped with air dryers. The other 

option is a distinct test program for 

locomotives not equipped with air 

dryers. AAR is amenable to a test 

program with the following features: 

• On locomotives approaching 3 

years since the prior annual and 

biennial tests were performed, a full air 

test would be run with the valves 

untouched. On locomotives that pass 

the air tests, the valves would be 

marked with either a tag or stencil 

identifying them as part of the test 

waiver. The FRA blue card would 

annotate to reflect that the unit is 

operating under the test waiver. Any 

valve replaced during the test period 

would be sent to Wabtec Corporation for 

analysis. The railroads would keep track 

of all brake failures occurring during the 

test period. 

• 6 months into the waiver period, 

one locomotive operating under the 

waiver will be selected from the test 

group of each participating railroad. 

Eligible locomotives would be 

locomotives that have not had any air 

brake valves replaced for a 31⁄2 year time 

period. These valve sets will be 

removed from the locomotives and sent 

to Wabtec for a joint tear-down 

inspection with FRA and members of 

the AAR Brake Systems and Locomotive 

Committees. 

• 1 year into the test period, one 

locomotive will be selected from the test 

group of each participating railroad. 

Eligible locomotives would be those that 

had not had any brake valve 

replacements for 4 years. These valve 

sets will be removed and sent to Wabtec 

for another joint tear-down inspection. 

• If it is determined by the tear-down 

inspections that the lack of an air-dryer 

has no effect on the performance of the 

air brake system, FRA would then 

expand waiver Docket Number FRA– 

2005–21325 to include locomotives 

without air dryers. 

AAR does not believe any safety 

hazard will be created, and looks 

forward to working with FRA on a 

waiver test program which will 

demonstrate that an extended time 

interval between tests will not adversely 

affect safety on locomotives not 

equipped with air dryers. 

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–2009– 

0004) 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 15, 

2009. 

Grady C. Cothen, Jr., 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety 

Standards and Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–9139 Filed 4–20–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

Release of Waybill Data 

The Surface Transportation Board has 

received a request from Sidley Austin 

Brown LLP on behalf of Canadian 

Pacific Railway Company (WB471–11— 

April 9, 2009) for permission to use 

certain data from the Board’s Carload 

Waybill Samples. A copy of the request 

may be obtained from the Office of 

Economics, Environmental Analysis, 

and Administration. 

The waybill sample contains 

confidential railroad and shipper data; 

therefore, if any parties object to these 

requests, they should file their 

objections with the Director of the 

Board’s Office of Economics, 

Environmental Analysis, and 

Administration within 14 calendar days 

of the date of this notice. The rules for 

release of waybill data are codified at 49 

CFR 1244.9. 

Contact: Scott Decker, (202) 245– 

0330. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. E9–9090 Filed 4–20–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

[Docket No. MARAD–2009 0043] 

Requested Administrative Waiver of 

the Coastwise Trade Laws 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Invitation for public comments 

on a requested administrative waiver of 

the Coastwise Trade Laws for the vessel 

SAVANNAH. 

SUMMARY: As authorized by 46 U.S.C. 

12121, the Secretary of Transportation, 

as represented by the Maritime 

Administration (MARAD), is authorized 

to grant waivers of the U.S.-build 

requirement of the coastwise laws under 

certain circumstances. A request for 

such a waiver has been received by 

MARAD. The vessel, and a brief 

description of the proposed service, is 

listed below. The complete application 

is given in DOT docket MARAD–2009– 

0043 at http://www.regulations.gov. 

Interested parties may comment on the 

effect this action may have on U.S. 

vessel builders or businesses in the U.S. 

that use U.S.-flag vessels. If MARAD 

determines, in accordance with 46 

U.S.C. 12121 and MARAD’s regulations 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES