Eureka

I want to extend my deepest regrets that Eureka will not be at Railfest this year. Many of you have made plans to attend, as I did, but unfortunately the trip was brought to a halt.
Many of you have wondered why this happened. Let me first say that Eureka is in great shape as it has always been. There is nothing mechanically wrong with it whatsoever. It carries a current Nevada boiler certificate and is still under an FRA annual.
What brought all this about is that I petitioned the FRA for an extension of the 1472 service day/ 15 year requirement for removal of the tubes. That petition is currently pending. It was suggested I also request that no exception be taken by the FRA that the locomotive be allowed to operate at Railfest, just to be on the safe side, pending the request for waiver. There are only 126 days of use on the tubes and the current code allows 1472 service days or 15 years, whichever comes first. Unfortunately, it is the request that no exception be taken that was denied by the FRA. I was therefore left with no choice, and had to stay home.
All this presents an interesting situation. There was a period when the new boiler rules became effective that created a period of uncertainty. For those locomotives with absolute minimal time on the tubes it made no sense to have to pull them. I, for one, asked for relief from that draconian requirement. There did not seem to be any issue with my request, as FRA inspectors never advised me that Eureka could not run on a road with FRA jurisdiction, but I would have to do a new Form 4 backed up with ultrasonic tests and install a second water glass. All three were done. If the current request for waiver is not granted, in order to run again on the D&S or the C&TS or whatever, I will have to pull tubes that are virtually new, and install new ones after the 1472 day inspection. The question therefore becomes one of economics. Appearing at these various events is not a profit making thing. While sharing Eureka in monitarily negligable, the "profit" I get is being able to share this historic railroad artifact with you. While I want to share Eureka, it is supported only by myself. It receives no grants, funding from State Museums, or any other financial assistance. If inspections by the FRA or Nevada inspectors or myself revealed any safety issue with the locomotive, I would take it out of service in an instant. But, that has not been the case. So, now I am left with the very expensive choice of replacing all the tubes that are perfectly good, to take Eureka out for 1 week a year, or keeping it here in Nevada at no additional expense. Perhaps the rules should be amended to allow for historic artifacts to operate on such a limited basis. In the meantime, if I had any sense, I would just keep it here in Nevada and not have to go through all this.
That is where the waiver comes in. If granted, it would allow me to continue to share Eureka with you, and at the same time recognize that the current rule regarding tubes is somewhat unrelated to the reality of this particular situation. This is not an uncommon thing to happen with new rules and I would think the waiver process allows for such modifications.
There is, I think, a 45 day period for the public to comment on the request for the waiver. If you believe that this request for waiver has merit, you might contact the FRA in writing. It would be your chance to actually help keep Eureka running in narrow gauge country. I sent the waiver request in on July 13,2005, so the time for any response is quickly approaching.
The address where I sent the waiver request is:
Docket Number: FRA-2005-21966
Mr. Grady C. Cothen, Jr.
Deputy Associate Admintrator
Safety Standards & Program Development
Federal Railroad Administration
400 7th St. S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
In spite of this current hang up on a fairly recent technical rule, I want all of you to know that in the past the FRA has been very helpful and a pleasure to work with. The folks at the Durango & Silverton and the Cumbres & Toltec are to be complimented in hosting Eureka over the years. I think everyone in the FRA and the railroads also have wanted to see something as beautiful as Eureka run through the mountains and open country. However, if it cannot be, to all those who have participated in her excursions or made it possible, we can remember that special time when the last American from the Old West ran through the Rocky Mountains.
Thank you one and all for your support over the years. You have made it all worthwhile.
Dan Markoff