How about this..... the CDC and Tony “The Science” Fauci tells us that masks are no longer necessary for vaccinated individuals. Uncle Joe from Scranton and the rest of the White House is onboard. Let’s (this includes the FRA and TSA) all get on the same page and quell the confusion and frustration. If individuals still want to wear masks, go ahead. As always, mileage will vary.

How about that thread on fire loss prevention? Not a lot of responses over there. Must not be a big deal. It never is until it happens.

Personally - I’ve always followed FRA rules if I agree with them or not.

There's a simple answer to this.

IF you fall under ANY possible application of the TSA or FRA regs, you:

1) do as they say;
2) Tell the complainers (and you WILL get them) "The current Federal regulations still mandate this. Sorry if you don't like it. We HAVE to comply, or else."

You don't blame Biden, or Trump, or China, or "paranoid" people/"Karens", or people who won't vaccinate. You simply say "It is what it is, sorry."

Two words: Open Cars.

There is a world of difference on how this virus is suspected to behave inside a pressurized cylinder with recirculated air and a flatcar with sides and bench seating. Yet to the CDC, they are to be treated the same. While an exception for "open air" transportation (like chartered boats, open-air railroad cars, etc.) would be nice, I'm (personally) not expecting to see the mask use requirement lifted in time for the peak tourist season.

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. Just comply with the FRA/TSA mandates and wear the stupid mask, until no longer required.

It ain't complicated.

Ross Rowland

As Ross says, don't make a big deal about this. Think of it like driving a car. You don't have to like stopping at a stop sign, you just have to do it.

Is my analysis correct in that the Strasburg policy is at odds with the FRA/TSA mandate? What about dinner trains? In theory, shouldn't those be suspended until the mandate is lifted?

My point being is there seems to be a double standard that exists, even within the tourist/heritage rail community. And this is a difficult mandate for an industry that relies on special events that are often paired with food/beverage consumption. Ultimately, how different is it really from sitting in a restaurant now unmasked?

You can eat and drink on trains, planes, etc. so operating a dinner train should be fine provided you are following all the rules in place.

As is often the case, Ross is the voice of reason with his post above.
Just wear the mask. It's simply not a bad idea, law or not, vaccine or not.
Having gone through NBC training the military and studied with a doctor a long time ago about the effects of a pandemic (in relation to how it would effect soldiers in the field), I have no problem with these rules and the level of people refusing to accept the reality of the situation at hand is the very reason why this thing hasn't gone away as fast as most folks said it would (not me though; I called it this time last year that we'd still be neck-deep in it after the summer of 2021 and likely well into 2022, which is now clearly the case).
There was a plain-clothes FRA guy with someone else as passengers on the Centralia-Chehalis operation recently and the conductor reminded them to wear masks, to which they apparently replied it'd been a test to see if we'd even say anything. I wasn't there for that run, but the conductor who was there told me this last Sunday on our recent run.
We wear masks due to the FRA mandate as crew, but good luck getting passengers to wear them. I can't count the number of people who'd stand in line waiting to board with no asks, looking oddly at everyone else doing so, as if it were even possible anyone could have been seeing that for the first time. I've also had passengers standing right next to the sign saying that have to wear a mask, asking with what has to be mock confusion, "Oh, do I have to wear a mask to ride this thing?"
it absolutely never fails that at least one person will walk right on board without a mask and make some kind of mumbling comment about something you can't make out. I've seen it on every single run I've ran on, and when I point out the mask mandate, again, they always act like they've never heard of it before then.
It's especially confusing for the public, in all fairness, in light of the recent CDC guidance that vaccinated folks don't need to wear them (as if people would never say they'd had the shot when they'd hadn't). I got my single J&J shot over a month ago, but there's no way any random person could know I'd actually gotten the vaccine.

The tattoos are coming........

Huh? Your experiences in Washington state must be vastly different than most of the USA. I see few restrictions and many of us are back to life as usual. We're barely halfway through 2021 and only 6-7 months into the vaccines and we appear to be nearing the point of herd immunity. I don't forsee any restrictions into 2022, unlike you.

... said that terrible anti-semitic woman selling the gold star patches.

Which side of history do you want to be on?

It really is simple. Honest. It's FRA Emergency Order No. 32, Extended by the TSA.

The TSA can issue fines to passengers starting at $250 and going up from there. The FRA fines top out at $118,826/day for continuing violations.

That makes my decision to comply very easy.

Not in Oregon, here is the most recent guidance from the Oregon Health Authority:

"On May 18, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) released updated guidance for masking and physical distancing throughout the state.

Significant changes to the guidance include the following:

Fully vaccinated individuals will no longer need to wear a mask indoors in public places where vaccination statuses of individuals are checked (masks will be required in areas where people are not asked about their vaccination status).
Businesses, employers and faith institutions have the right to determine their own masking policies for fully vaccinated individuals.
Masks are no longer required for people who are outdoors, though masking is still encouraged, especially in crowded places and for people who are unvaccinated."

Iin the Portland area I have yet to see a person in an indoor public place not wearing a mask dating back to spring of 2020 (I was just in a Kroger-family store yesterday, no one was without masks) and I know the counties in the Portland area still have capacity restrictions. The word is (or at least as it was reported in the Tillamook newspaper) that when Oregon achieves a first dose 70 percent statewide vaccination rate for residents 18 or older, Oregon will lift all risk level health and safety restrictions. But in some of our rural counties (especially those bordering Idaho, some of which only have 5,000 or so residents) the vaccination rate is well below the 65% the urban counties are at now, so I'm not sure how they will handle those places.

Yeah, that's going on in other states, but the first publicized COVID breakout was within an hour's drive from where I am right now, and people are still getting it in some counties (more so in some spots than others, but it varies).
I wonder what you're seeing that points to herd immunity. Even with easy access to the vaccines, lots of people are doing what they did with the mask mandates; declaring they don't need to pay attention to it as if they're special in some way. Funny thing is the same older people who decry the "everyone gets a trophy and Mom told me I'm special" types in following generations are the very same who are the most resistant to protective measures like masks and vaccinations.
I'm done trying to explain the painfully obvious that this thing isn't going away soon. It's like trying to explain the earth is round to someone who declarers it's flat and won't listen to anything to the contrary.
You only have to watch the news to see how COVID is still ravaging people all over the planet, coupled with so many Americans who refuse to get the shot(s) to see it's clear we're nowhere near herd immunity as a population.
I did what I could; I wear masks, clean my hands often and got the vaccine. I can't do anything else at this point, but shake my head at the level of willful ignorance run amok in this (and probably also in any other) country.