In correction to my post on the History why FRA Ignores the Rotary, I referred to a Court ruling in Atlanta to be about 1913. The true date was October 30, 1911 when the practice STOPPED of using any non-compliance car for intrastate commerce because it could not be used for interstate commerce. The Safety Appliance Act went into effect September 1, 1903 which detailed the requirement for automatic coupler, automatic air brakes controlled from one engineer, hand holds, and side ladders for any car used to carry commerce in interstate movement. Many of the railroads in the nation continued to use these cars for loading revenue shipment for local movement that did not cross state lines.
As I said in my prior post, a Judge of the Superior Court at Atlanta, GA ended this practice on October 30, 1911 in a case “Southern RR versus USA”. At this point all these cars were either scrapped or put into non-revenue service as private railroad maintenance of way category. These cars in this category no longer came under the definition of “cars carrying commerce in interstate traffic” and no longer came under the Federal authority of jurisdiction. The ICC did not have authority to have these cars comply with any of the SAA act rules and they did not look at them, except where they may have caused harm to interstate commerce. A rotary snowplow fit this exclusion, as it carries no commerce. The railroads carried that responsibility as they still do today. These cars cannot be moved in revenue trains with other SAA compliance cars without being in compliance. The FRA follows the same limits of authority as the ICC as they are a Federal Regulatory Agency and do not trump the states responsibilities.
On the day the C&TS overturned the #484 at Los Pinos, they violated these rules by coupling a passenger train into a snow flanger worktrain lead by #484 and proceeded over track that has not been inspected by a qualified track inspector by visually viewing the track that could not be viewed as it was covered by deep snow. The track had been out of service for months prior to the train and the track had not been viewed to be put in service for a passenger train. The flanger worktrain should have pushed through the snow and then the track walked or ridden over by a track car for inspection. Passenger trains must never be coupled to work trains. This is one reason why Black Bart is gone.
In my post I referred to a link-and-pin operation in GA, but I was in error meaning SC; more defined being Palmetto Brick Co. as covered in a story in Train Magazine, March 2006, page 42-43. Here it is interesting to note that Occupational Safety Department took jurisdictional authority and “suggested” the company improve the noise in the cab of the locomotive, which resulted in air-conditioning the cab. The company worked over the equipment and the line but nothing was said about the use of link-and-pin couplers. Author Mallory Ferrell ever got a photo of a trainman coupling a car without the use of a stick/brake club to hold the link up in making the coupling. The worker had gloves on so we don’t know if he had already been called “shorty”. He may have used the pin to lift the link to fit the car slot. His foot on the rail would have given him a week without pay on any regular railroad. I haven’t found a safety-toe shoe yet that a locomotive can run over without crushing it and the toe inside. Unless there is a state law to cover, not likely these car will come under the new FRA rules requiring reflection marks on the side of the cars to be seen at night on the flasher protected crossing as in the photo. The engine and the cars are all 4-wheels, so they fit the first exclusion of the 1893 Safety Appliance Act as finally approved by the Congress of the U.S.A., therefore no air brakes ever though they cross a public highway at grade.
Now, lets see; what do they say is the requirement for an Amendment to the US Constitution: approval by the Congress and approval of ¾ of the States of the USA, and then we can make a law that will outlaw link-and-pin couplers and non-compliance cars sitting on rails anywhere? And give authority or reason for the FRA to look at a rotary.
