49 C.F.R. Subpart B—Freight Car Components
Title 49 - Transportation
This subpart contains safety requirements prohibiting a railroad from placing or continuing in service a freight car that has certain defective components. A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if— (a) A wheel flange on the car is worn to a thickness of (b) The height of a wheel flange on the car, from the tread to the top of the flange, is 1 (c) The thickness of a rim of a wheel on the car is (d) A wheel rim, flange, plate, or hub area on the car has a crack or break; (e) A wheel on the car has a chip or gouge in the flange that is 1 (f) A wheel on the car has— (1) A slid flat or shelled spot that is more than 2 (2) Two adjoining flat or shelled spots each of which is more than two inches in length; (g) A wheel on the car shows evidence of being loose such as oil seepage on the back hub or back plate; (h) A wheel on the car shows signs of having been overheated as evidenced by a reddish brown discoloration, to a substantially equal extent on both the front and the back face of the rim, that extends on either face more than four inches into the plate area measured from the inner edge of the front or back face of the rim; or, (i) A wheel on the car has been welded unless the car is being moved for repair in accordance with §215.9 of this part. [44 FR 77340, Dec. 31, 1979, as amended at 50 FR 13382, Apr. 4, 1985] A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if— (a) An axle on the car has a crack or is broken; (b) An axle on the car has a gouge in the surface that is— (1) Between the wheel seats; and (2) More than one-eighth inch in depth; (c) An axle on the car, used in conjunction with a plain bearing, has an end collar that is broken or cracked; (d) A journal on the car shows evidence of overheating, as evidenced by a pronounced blue black discoloration; or (e) The surface of the plain bearing journal on the axle, or the fillet on the axle, has— (1) A ridge; (2) A depression; (3) A circumferential score; (4) Corrugation; (5) A scratch; (6) A continuous streak; (7) Pitting; (8) Rust; or (9) Etching. A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if the car has— (a) A plain bearing box that does not contain visible free oil; (b) A plain bearing box lid that is missing, broken, or open except to receive servicing; or (c) A plain bearing box containing foreign matter, such as dirt, sand, or coal dust, that can reasonably be expected to— (1) Damage the bearing; or (2) Have a detrimental effect on the lubrication of the journal and the bearings. A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if the car has a plain bearing box with a lubricating pad that— (a) Has a tear extending half the length or width of the pad, or more; (b) Shows evidence of having been scorched, burned, or glazed; (c) Contains decaying or deteriorated fabric that impairs proper lubrication of the pad; (d) Has— (1) An exposed center core (except by design); or (2) Metal parts contacting the journal; or (e) Is— (1) Missing; or (2) Not in contact with the journal. A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if the car has a plain bearing— (a) That is missing, cracked, or broken; (b) On which the bearing liner— (1) Is loose; or (2) Has a broken out piece; or (c) That shows signs of having been overheated, as evidenced by— (1) Melted babbitt; (2) Smoke from hot oil; or (3) Journal surface damage. A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if a plain bearing wedge on that car is— (a) Missing; (b) Cracked; (c) Broken; or (d) Not located in its design position. (a) A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if the car has— (1) A roller bearing that shows signs of having been overheated as evidenced by— (i) Discoloration; or (ii) Other telltale signs of overheating such as damage to the seal or distortion of any bearing component; (2) A roller bearing with a— (i) Loose or missing cap screw; or (ii) Broken, missing, or improperly applied cap screw lock; or (3) A roller bearing with a seal that is loose or damaged, or permits leakage of lubricant in clearly formed droplets. (b)(1) A railroad may not continue in service a car that has a roller bearing whose truck was involved in a derailment unless the bearing has been inspected and tested by: (i) Visual examination to determine whether it shows any sign of damage; and (ii) Spinning freely its wheel set or manually rotating the bearing to determine whether the bearing makes any unusual noise. (2) The roller bearing shall be disassembled from the axle and inspected internally if— (i) It shows any external sign of damage; (ii) It makes any unusual noise when its wheel set is spun freely or the bearing is manually rotated; (iii) Its truck was involved in a derailment at a speed of more than 10 miles per hour; or (iv) Its truck was dragged on the ground for more than 200 feet. (3) Each defective roller bearing shall be repaired or replaced before the car is placed back in service. [44 FR 77340, Dec. 31, 1979, as amended at 45 FR 26711, Apr. 21, 1980] A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if the car has a roller bearing adapter that is— (a) Cracked or broken; (b) Not in its design position; or (c) Worn on the crown of the adapter to the extent that the frame bears on the relief portion of the adapter, as shown in the figure below (see figure 1). A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if the car has— (a) A side frame or bolster that— (1) Is broken; or (2) Has a crack of (b) A truck equipped with a snubbing device that is ineffective, as evidenced by— (1) A snubbing friction element that is worn beyond a wear indicator; (2) A snubber wear plate that is loose, missing (except by design), or worn through; (3) A broken or missing snubber activating spring; or (4) Snubber unit that is broken, or in the case of hydraulic units, is broken or leaking clearly formed droplets of oil or other fluid. (c) A side bearing in any of the following conditions: (1) Part of the side bearing assembly is missing or broken; (2) The bearings at one end of the car, on both sides, are in contact with the body bolster (except by design); (3) The bearings at one end of the car have a total clearance from the body bolster of more than (4) At diagonally opposite sides of the car, the bearings have a total clearance from the body bolsters of more than (d) Truck springs— (1) That do not maintain travel or load; (2) That are compressed solid; or (3) More than one outer spring of which is broken, or missing, in any spring cluster; (e) Interference between the truck bolster and the center plate that prevents proper truck rotations; or (f) Brake beam shelf support worn so excessively that it does not support the brake beam.
Title 49: Transportation
PART 215—RAILROAD FREIGHT CAR SAFETY STANDARDS
Subpart B—Freight Car Components
§ 215.101 Scope.
Suspension System
§ 215.103 Defective wheel.
§ 215.105 Defective axle.
§ 215.107 Defective plain bearing box: General.
§ 215.109 Defective plain bearing box: Journal lubrication system.
§ 215.111 Defective plain bearing.
§ 215.113 Defective plain bearing wedge.
§ 215.115 Defective roller bearing.
§ 215.117 Defective roller bearing adapter.
§ 215.119 Defective freight car truck.
Car Bodies
§ 215.121 Defective car body.
A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if:
(a) Any portion of the car body, truck, or their appurtenances (except wheels) has less than a 2
(b) The car center sill is:
(1) Broken;
(2) Cracked more than 6 inches; or
(3) Permanently bent or buckled more than 2
(c) The car has a coupler carrier that is:
(1) Broken;
(2) Missing;
(3) Non-resilient and the coupler has a type F head.
(d) After December 1, 1983, the car is a box car and its side doors are not equipped with operative hangers, or the equivalent, to prevent the doors from becoming disengaged.
(e) The car has a center plate:
(1) That is not properly secured;
(2) Any portion of which is missing; or
(3) That is broken; or
(4) That has two or more cracks through its cross section (thickness) at the edge of the plate that extend to the portion of the plate that is obstructed from view while the truck is in place; or
(f) The car has a broken sidesill, crossbearer, or body bolster.
[44 FR 77340, Dec. 31, 1979, as amended at 47 FR 53737, Dec. 29, 1982]
Draft System
§ 215.123 Defective couplers.
A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if—
(a) The car is equipped with a coupler shank that is bent out of alignment to the extent that the coupler will not couple automatically with the adjacent car;
(b) The car has a coupler that has a crack in the highly stressed junction area of the shank and head as shown in the figure below (see figure 2).
(c) The car has a coupler knuckle that is broken or cracked on the inside pulling face of the knuckle.
(d) The car has a knuckle pin or knuckle thrower that is:
(1) Missing; or
(2) Inoperative; or
(e) The car has a coupler retainer pin lock that is—
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(1) Missing; or
(2) Broken; or
(f) The car has a coupler with any of the following conditions:
(1) The locklift is inoperative;
(2) The coupler assembly does not have anticreep protection to prevent unintentional unlocking of the coupler lock; or
(3) The coupler lock is—
(i) Missing;
(ii) Inoperative;
(iii) Bent;
(iv) Cracked; or
(v) Broken.
§ 215.125 Defective uncoupling device.
A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if the car has an uncoupling device without sufficient vertical and lateral clearance to prevent—
(a) Fouling on curves; or
(b) Unintentional uncouplings.
§ 215.127 Defective draft arrangement.
A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if—
(a) The car has a draft gear that is inoperative;
(b) The car has a broken yoke;
(c) An end of car cushioning unit is—
(1) Leaking clearly formed droplets; or
(2) Inoperative;
(d) A vertical coupler pin retainer plate—
(1) Is missing (except by design); or
(2) Has a missing fastener;
(e) The car has a draft key, or draft key retainer, that is—
(1) Inoperative; or
(2) Missing; or
(f) The car has a missing or broken follower plate.
§ 215.129 Defective cushioning device.
A railroad may not place or continue in service a car if it has a cushioning device that is—
(a) Broken;
(b) Inoperative; or
(c) Missing a part—
unless its sliding components have been effectively immobilized.
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