Re: FRA Boiler Standards and Revisionist History

Quote
Rick Steele
> Steve,
>
> What you forgot to mention is that the new FRA
> Boiler regs were not formulated by the FRA. The
> new regs are a culmination of many months of
> meetings and volumes of input by Steam Locomotive
> operators all over the nation.

>
> Rick

Rick,

Upon reading your reply I see that I made a literary leap, and left you-all behind. The Engineering Standards Committee (ESC) is the formal name of the group of Steam Locomotive Operators. They originally organized to develop an ASTM standard for steam locomotive boiler repair, which I believe they then hoped to have accepted by the FRA as an "incorporated by reference" Federal Standard. What with the aftermath of the GRR incident, much of it became direct regulation, without the reference to an ASTM standard.

You do seem to agree with my thesis that the new regulation is here because the operators helped to develop it and wanted it; and that it is not the onerous result of the GRR accident. If I am relating this history incorrectly, any of you Committee members who read here may chime right in!

Steve Zuiderveen



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2007 07:46PM by szuiderveen.