Re: Eureka is not the only one...

Ya' know.........
The entire process of coming up with those new rules was in the public domain. FRA held public hearings, held seminars, solicited written opinions and protests, and the entire process took about 10 years. During that time, update
seminars on the progress being made or not made were given at TRAIN and RPCA conventions and in other venues. A lot of people devoted a lot of time and money (some of it taxpayer money) to come up with rules that would best serve, knowing full well that individual rules cannot be written for each individual engine or situation. And they went to a lot of effort and expense to get the word out.
Where were all the people with these special engines and special situations when the rules were being drafted and there was a better chance of getting changes or exceptions implemented?
And why is it only after the rules have been in effect for 5 or 6 years that some are only now facing up to what's in those rules?
As hard as it may be to believe, I still occasionally encounter an otherwise intelligent locomotive owner/operator who claims to know nothing about the new rules or that their even ARE new rules! Not to mention those who brag that they didn't comply with the old rules, so they aren't going to comply with the new ones, either.
I don't get it.
Even in these forums, some of the things posted indicate that people don't understand the rules; this is especially evident in the recurring complaints about "having to put in new flues," when there is no such requirment and never has been, even under the OLD rules! To be blunt, some of them should know better. And deep down, they probably do.
Is our industry simply ignoring changes that are coming along and have been made in hopes that if we ignore it, it will go away? Or that it won't apply to me/us? Or that we can complain afterward and call our congresspersons and get it changed back so we don't have to do anything differently?
Wish I knew....
There are already a lot of documented cases where the new rules forced operators to take a close look at things they either never considered before, or hoped they'd never have to look at. Some of the things found have been downright scary, not to mention unsafe.
I know that would never happen with the Eureka; Dan has far too much integrity for anything like that. But there are a few out there who don't know and/or don't care. The next Gettysburg will be the last steam engine to operate.