Steam & Excursion > Roller bearings acceptability. RR to RR

For freight cars 'offered at interchange', the cars for 
interchange, RR to RR must comply with AAR rules 
(agreements) about standards and uniformity.

It is an industry legal agreement among the freight common carriers.
Its rules of agreement specify which cars can be accepted for RR to RR
handling of 'foreign' cars on each others' tracks.

Among the types of things that lie outside of the "Agreement" are
railroads' operating equipment that is excluded from the rules of 
interchange.  The rules are published, and for mechanical up-keep,
repairs, and inspections, condemning limits, etc. AAR 
issues annual updates specifying requirements allowing free 
interchange of freight cars.

Other than 'interchange' compliant cars, other 'non-covered' equipment 
may be handled by two or more 'agreeing' private railroads. The agreements 
lie outside the Rules of Interchange and AAR has no legal, or agreement 
interest the terms that private parties agree-to.

An example is the interchange of freight cars with arch-bar trucks.
These trucks originated before the technology of reliable, cast steel truck side-frames.
Arch Bar trucks were made of flat bars linking the cast, individual axle journal 
boxes together, in a 4-wheel truck.  The arch bar trucks were a compromise 
design, and with age and rail battering, arch bars' components would crack & break,
largely due to flex-cycling and metal fatigue cracking. 

Arch-bar trucks are prohibited in interchange. There are many additional 
mechanical-related car parts that are interchange-prohibited.

They became a constant derailment threat, so the policy procedures 
at AAR were cost-evaluated and the AAR member RRs agreed, that 
archbar trucks would no longer be covered by the Ruies of Interchsnge.
Meaning, that a 'receiving' RR could refuse to move a car with non-complying 
trucks, account AAR rules of accounting, etc. do not allow free interchange
of cars that are not in compliance.  A railroad might keep cars that are 
part of a 'work-train', and some of those cars may ride on arch-bar trucks.
Such use on one specific RR is permitted.

However, two agreeing carriers might sign a contract agreeing to private 
terms, and the terms are not AAR Interchange regulated.
So, arch bar trucks, and other specified trucks, are not allowed in 
interchange.  

There are other conditions and equipment that falls outside of AAR rules,
and railroads privately agree to the terms of private agreements ...
involving cars, locos and the like.  The private agreements are binding,
and they expose the RRs to lawsuits for varoius occurrences.  

However, the AAR  is an outside agreement body and cannot be sued
in a legal entanglement between two parties covered by a separate 
legal agreement.

So, steamers are accepted by common carrier RRs, under specific 
private agreements, affecting only the signatories to the agreement.
There may be more than one RR  agreeing to accept responsibility,
and they, too are liable for what might happen on their tracks.

Mechanical standards are established by the FRA, irrespective of 
agreements and designed to protect the citizens of USA from 
safety risks of things like pressurized steam boilers. 

So, agreeing to operate steamers on private rights-of-way is solely
the choice of the carriers.  The FRA can come on carrier propery
at any time for any pupose to inspect and approve any aspect 
of railroad operations.  All engineering documents are kept in the 
railroads' files, and original signature copies are filed with FRA at specific 
occurrences and inspection dates.  FRA rules cover all RR equipment,
regardless of interchange agreements.

So, excursions and similar events are not covered in AAR agreements.
And things like "plain bearings". can be operated by one or more carriers,
at their mutually agreed conditions & legal peril.

Now , be very careful in your restorations --- our whole excursion-based 
futures are keyed to the poorest-condition carrier, like the old Gettysburg RR
and their self-caused boiler explosion.  Such risky-operators imperil the entire 
business of train public excursions.  
Help identify the bad actors, and purge them from our our ranks of careful operators!

If you see or observe risky practices and seek clarity, bring your concerns 
to us in public, or private messages, and our interested parties can 
dig into your concerns.  And develop an appropriate response.

Doyle protects users of the 4449 and it's oil lubricated main bearings
with a continuous temperature-monitoring system; it compares all 8 
main-bearing axle brasses'  "running tempertures" , and alerts the 
engineer of any individual crown brasses that are operating at higher,
comparative, temperatures of the others in the system.
 ALL the other 4449's engine and tender axles are on roller bearings.


​W.

( I liked Doyle's axle-system because it did not involve 'numbers' to 
   determine 'happy status'. The green lights cycling through the 
   8 axle indicators, said that everybody was happy and getting-along 
    well together ! Even above 60-per!  There's only two colors: red or green,
     all I ever saw was green!)

( Send me a private messsge, and if needed I'll give you my
   cell phone number) 

not proofed, yet


 



Edited 10 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/24 17:47 by wcamp1472.

BCR had sensors on engine bearings on its passenger train in the mid  1990's

tomstp Wrote:
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> BCR had sensors on engine bearings on its
> passenger train in the mid  1990's

What "engine bearings" are you referring to? 

Drivers
 

tomstp Wrote:
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> Drivers

Oh, you mean the steam locomotive. They got the idea from the 4449 crew, as temperature sensors were installed on all 8 crown bearings on 4449, back in 1984.