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In compliance with this order, ICG issued Bulletin Order No. 88 on June 4, 1970. This bulletin order, however, was not reissued after it expired on December 31, 1970.
There were no Federal regulations applicable to operating procedures or rules at the time of the accident.
Federal equipment regulations. Federal requirements for the construction, inspection, maintenance, and operation of MU equipment are contained in 49 CFR 230. Sections 417, "Trucks", and 457, "Body structure", are particularly pertinent to this accident. Section 417 requires that:
- "(b) Trucks shall be locked to the unit body and so arranged that the entire truck will lift with the unit body without disengaging the center plates. The attachments shall be of adequate strength and properly maintained. Such protection shall be made on units presently in service and not so equipped when the unit receives general repairs but not later than 24 months after April 1, 1958."
The Interstate Commerce Commission relieved ICG from equipping its "old" cars in this manner on September 22, 1954.
Information regarding body structure appears in the sections of this report entitled "Train Equipment" and "Accident Losses”, and Appendices E and G.
As of October 30, 1972, the FRA did not know whether the design and construction of Highliner cars complied with Federal regulations. The FRA had no enforcement program for compliance of new equipment and depended instead on the railroads to see that new equipment met the requirements.
ICG Operating Rules and Practices
Overruns. Overruns of station platforms were common in ICG suburban operations and became more frequent after the introduction of Highliner cars. An overrun buzzer in the cab of the Highliner cars allowed the engineer to inform the conductor of a station overrun. The overruns generally did not exceed one car length, and it was unusual for an entire train to pass a platform. No witness at the Safety Board's public hearing could recall a train ever having passed beyond the limits of a block in a station overrun.
