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AAR Circular Letter C-9094 |
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AAR Circular Letter C-9094 |
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January 16, 2000
Circular Letter
(c-9094)
Subject: Interchange Prohibition of Roller Bearing Cap Screw Seal Rings Effective January 1, 2007
TO THE MEMBERS AND PRIVATE CAR OWNERS
File: TSWC-Int. Rules
As a result of a 1993 Mechanical Division Letter Ballot roller bearings having cap screw seal rings were initially prohibited in interchange service effective January 1, 1999. The addition to interchange Rule 90 was placed in Field Manual Effective January 1, 1994 to allow car owners sufficient opportunity to bring their fleets into compliance.
A field survey was taken in early 1997 by the Arbitration & Rules Committee and it became apparent that significant numbers of cap screw seal rings would remain in the fleet on January 1, 1999, the initial prohibition date. In Circular Letter c-8865, dated March 26, 1998, a few removal "triggers" were floated including requiring car owners to remove cap screw seal rings when at a car owner’s repair facility or designated contract shop; allowing removal of wheelsets with cap screw seal rings under Field Manual Rule 41; and adding a reason for removal to Field Manual Rule 41 as well. Thus there would have been causes for removal in the roller bearing, wheel, and axle Interchange Rules in addition to the 1/1/99 prohibition in Field Manual Rule 90. The second proposal in circular c-8865 was to modify the heavy repair threshold in Field Manual Rule 88, Section B.4 to coincide with the 25 hour repair limitation in Field Manual Rule 108 and move the prohibition date in Rule 90 to January 1, 2014. The second option was approved and implemented effective July 1, 1998.
The WABL Committee and the Arbitration & Rules Committee continued to monitor Car Repair Billing data, hot box set-out data, FRA reportable accidents attributed to burned-off journals, and failure data by car type. A new proposal was advanced to the Technical Services Working Committee (TSWC) in October, 1999. The proposal would have modified Field Manual Rule 36 to require the removal of cap screw seal rings from all tank cars whenever tank cars are on shop or repair track and would further have required the removal of cap screw seal rings from all cars having gross rail loads exceeding 263,000 #’s whenever such cars are on shop or repair tracks. In both cases, facilities not possessing an AAR Status Code 9A (Removal & Reapplication of Roller Bearing End Caps) or Status Code 9 (Roller Bearing Mounting) certification would have been required to remove the entire wheelset and bill the car owners accordingly. The proposal also included moving the prohibition date in interchange to January 1, 2007. The TSWC endorsed the proposal and it was submitted to industry comment per Rule 123 on November 9, 1999 via Circular Letter c-9066.
The Arbitration and Rules Committee and the TSWC have reviewed the industry comments. The TSWC, on January 12, 2000, decided to abandon the additional proposed removal triggers contemplated for Field Manual Rule 36. The January 1, 2007 prohibition date was adopted effective immediately.
Field Manual Rule 90 is therefore modified as follows:
FIELD MANUAL OF THE A.A.R. INTERCHANGE RULES
RULE 90 – CARS AND/OR CAR PARTS PROHIBITED IN INTERCHANGE
PRESENT
REVISED
Please note that the January 1, 2007 date corresponds (based upon population estimates, fleet retirements, & wheelset removal rates) to the predicted normal attrition date for cap screw seal rings. The Rule 88, Section B.4 twenty-five hour trigger mentioned above as well as the Rule 36, Section A.15 Cause for Attention remain in place. The 2007 prohibition date effectively provides a 13 year notice since the initial Letter Ballot in 1993 and an 8 year extension of the initial January 1, 1999 date. Car owners are encouraged to remove cap screw seal rings from their fleets as expeditiously as possible. Repair facilities and contract shops are urged to become Status Code 9A certified and do their part to reduce the cap screw seal ring population.
Sincerely,
Patrick T. Ameen