Terms of Service

North American Railcar Operators Association

Last updated: July 17, 2026

INTRODUCTION

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern access to and use of the website operated by the North American Railcar Operators Association (“NARCOA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), including its information, membership functions, online forms, tools, and other website services (collectively, the “Website”).

NARCOA is a Delaware non-stock, nonprofit corporation with its principal office in Cincinnati, Ohio.

By accessing or using the Website, creating an account, submitting information, or purchasing or renewing a membership through the Website, you agree to these Terms and to any policies expressly incorporated into them. If you do not agree, do not use the Website.

These Terms apply only to the Website and related online services. Participation in NARCOA activities, excursions, insurance programs, or affiliated organization activities may be governed by separate bylaws, rules, policies, applications, agreements, releases, waivers, safety requirements, and railroad instructions. If a separate governing document conflicts with these Terms concerning a particular activity or subject, the more specific document controls for that activity or subject.

SECTION 1 – ELIGIBILITY AND AUTHORITY

You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of legal majority where you live, to create an account, purchase a membership, or enter into a binding transaction through the Website.

A minor may use publicly available portions of the Website only with the permission and supervision of a parent or legal guardian.

If you use the Website on behalf of an organization or another person, you represent that you have authority to act for and bind that organization or person.

SECTION 2 – PERMITTED USE

You may use the Website only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms.

You may not:

1. Violate any applicable law or regulation.

2. Infringe NARCOA’s rights or the rights of another person or organization.

3. Upload or transmit viruses, malware, destructive code, or other harmful material.

4. Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Website, an account, a server, or a connected system.

5. Interfere with the security, operation, or availability of the Website.

6. Use automated systems to scrape, harvest, copy, or collect Website content or personal information without written permission.

7. Impersonate another person or misrepresent your identity, affiliation, or the source of submitted information.

8. Use the Website to send spam, phishing messages, fraudulent requests, or unlawful solicitations.

9. Harass, threaten, defame, abuse, or unlawfully discriminate against another person.

10. Use the Website or its content for an unlawful, obscene, fraudulent, or malicious purpose.

We may restrict or suspend Website access when we reasonably believe a user has violated these Terms, created a security risk, interfered with the Website, or harmed NARCOA or another person. Website enforcement does not replace any disciplinary procedure required by NARCOA’s bylaws or policies.

SECTION 3 – ACCOUNTS AND ACCOUNT SECURITY

Some Website functions may require an account.

You agree to provide accurate and current information and to update it when necessary. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username, password, and other account credentials. You are also responsible for activity conducted through your account, except to the extent caused by NARCOA’s failure to use reasonable security measures.

Notify NARCOA promptly if you believe your account has been accessed or used without authorization.

We may require you to change a password, verify account information, or take other reasonable steps to protect the Website and its users.

SECTION 4 – MEMBERSHIP, DUES, CANCELLATION, AND REFUNDS

Membership eligibility, rights, privileges, restrictions, obligations, dues, renewal, termination, and disciplinary action are governed by NARCOA’s bylaws and applicable Board-approved policies. Website descriptions are summaries and do not replace those governing documents.

The dues structure is determined by the NARCOA Board of Directors.

A member may voluntarily terminate membership by delivering notice to the NARCOA President or Secretary personally or by mail. Membership terminates on delivery of the notice or, when mailed, on the date the notice is deposited in the mail.

Membership also terminates when a member fails to pay renewal dues by the applicable due date, as provided in the bylaws.

Voluntary cancellation, resignation, nonrenewal, or termination for failure to pay dues does not entitle the member to a refund or reduction of dues unless the Board has adopted a different written policy or applicable law requires otherwise.

A member expelled by the Board under the procedures stated in the bylaws will receive a prorated refund of dues already paid.

All membership rights cease when membership terminates. Termination of Website access does not, by itself, terminate membership. Membership termination must occur under the bylaws and applicable NARCOA policies.

SECTION 5 – PAYMENTS AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS

You agree to provide complete and accurate billing and contact information. You authorize NARCOA and its payment service providers to process charges that you approve.

We may reject, limit, correct, or cancel a transaction when reasonably necessary because of an error, suspected fraud, duplicate transaction, payment failure, legal requirement, or Website malfunction. When practical, we will attempt to notify you using the contact information you provided.

Except for the membership refund required after expulsion under Section 4, payments for publications, merchandise, event registrations, insurance-related charges, or other items are governed by the specific terms or refund policy applicable to that transaction.

Prices, dues, fees, and available services may change. A change will not alter a completed transaction unless required by law or agreed to by the affected user.

SECTION 6 – WEBSITE INFORMATION

NARCOA attempts to provide useful and accurate information, but Website content may contain errors, omissions, outdated material, or information supplied by third parties.

Website information is provided for general informational purposes. It is not a substitute for current NARCOA bylaws, policies, rules, Operations Manual provisions, railroad instructions, excursion documents, insurance materials, laws, regulations, professional advice, or direct confirmation from the responsible authority.

Historical documents and archived material are provided for reference and may not reflect current requirements.

NARCOA may correct, update, remove, or reorganize Website content at any time. We do not undertake a general duty to update every item unless required by law.

SECTION 7 – SAFETY, EXCURSIONS, AND OPERATIONAL INFORMATION

The Website does not authorize any person to enter railroad property, operate railroad equipment, participate in an excursion, or disregard instructions from a railroad, Excursion Coordinator, NARCOA official, insurer, governmental authority, or other responsible party.

NARCOA’s current Rulebook establishes baseline rules for NARCOA-insured excursions. Host railroads, governmental authorities, and NARCOA affiliates may impose additional or more restrictive requirements as permitted by NARCOA’s governing documents.

Operators and participants must follow the current Rulebook, applicable affiliate rules, instructions from the Excursion Coordinator and railroad officials, and all other governing safety requirements.

Railroad operations and outdoor activities involve serious risks and may be affected by weather, track conditions, railroad operations, mechanical conditions, governmental action, emergencies, and other events beyond NARCOA’s control.

Activity cancellations, delays, eligibility decisions, registration-fee consequences, operating requirements, and safety restrictions are governed by the applicable excursion materials, releases, agreements, rules, policies, and instructions—not by general Website content.

The NARCOA Agreement, applicable releases, and other excursion documents govern assumption of risk, release of liability, covenants not to sue, indemnification, and claims arising from excursions or related activities. Nothing in these Terms changes or replaces those documents.

SECTION 8 – INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND USE OF THE NARCOA NAME

Unless otherwise stated, the Website and its original text, graphics, logos, photographs, documents, organization, and other content are owned by or licensed to NARCOA and are protected by applicable intellectual-property laws.

You may view, download, and print Website material for personal, educational, historical, membership-related, or other noncommercial use, provided that you:

1. Do not remove copyright, trademark, attribution, or other ownership notices.

2. Do not materially misrepresent or alter the content.

3. Do not imply NARCOA’s sponsorship, sanction, approval, or endorsement.

4. Comply with any additional restriction shown with the material.

You may not sell, license, republish, systematically copy, or commercially exploit Website content without written permission from NARCOA or the applicable rights holder.

Affiliates may use the NARCOA name to promote excursions as permitted by NARCOA policy. They may not describe an excursion as “NARCOA sanctioned,” “NARCOA approved,” or use similar language implying NARCOA approval.

A member, group, or individual that is not a NARCOA Affiliate may use the NARCOA name only:

1. To state accurately that a person is a NARCOA member.

2. To state that NARCOA-approved insurance is required, when applicable.

3. To state that the current NARCOA Rulebook will be used as the baseline rules, when applicable.

4. As otherwise approved in advance by the NARCOA President or an authorized representative.

Without prior approval, the NARCOA name and marks may not be used in books, magazines, photographs, films, videos, social-media content, Internet postings, merchandise, or other communications in a way prohibited by NARCOA policy.

NARCOA’s Employer Identification Number may be used only for NARCOA’s official business. It may not be used by an affiliate or individual member.

SECTION 9 – USER SUBMISSIONS

You retain ownership of articles, photographs, comments, corrections, suggestions, and other material you submit to NARCOA (“Submissions”).

By submitting material for publication, display, archival use, or another organizational use, you grant NARCOA a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to review, reproduce, edit for format or clarity, publish, display, distribute, archive, and use that material for NARCOA’s nonprofit, educational, historical, promotional, and administrative purposes.

This license continues for material already published, distributed, incorporated into another work, or archived, even if you later ask NARCOA to stop future use, unless NARCOA agrees otherwise in writing.

You represent that:

1. You own the Submission or have permission to provide it.

2. NARCOA’s permitted use will not infringe another person’s copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other rights.

3. The Submission is not knowingly false, defamatory, unlawful, threatening, obscene, or malicious.

4. The Submission does not contain malware or harmful code.

NARCOA is not required to publish, retain, compensate, or respond to a Submission. We may edit, decline, remove, or restrict material that violates these Terms, creates legal or operational risk, or is unsuitable for NARCOA’s purposes.

When a Submission contains identifiable people, private property, copyrighted material, or sensitive information, you are responsible for obtaining any permission reasonably needed for the intended use.

SECTION 10 – PRIVACY

NARCOA maintains membership records and may use those records only for purposes reasonably related to a member’s interest as a member, NARCOA administration, or as otherwise permitted by law.

NARCOA intends to maintain a separate Privacy Policy and, as appropriate, a Cookie Notice, accessibility statement, and other privacy disclosures. When posted, those documents will govern their respective subjects and will be incorporated into these Terms by reference where stated.

Until those documents are adopted, NARCOA will handle personal information in accordance with its bylaws, Board-approved policies, and applicable law.

Do not submit sensitive personal information unless it is requested through an authorized NARCOA form or process. Payment-card information may be handled directly by a third-party payment processor under that processor’s own terms and privacy policy.

No Internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. NARCOA uses reasonable measures appropriate to the nature of the Website but cannot promise absolute security.

SECTION 11 – CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Access to the Website does not authorize a user to obtain, disclose, distribute, or misuse confidential NARCOA information.

Judicial Committee investigations, reports, and outcomes must be kept confidential by Judicial Committee members, Board members, and officers, except when disclosure is required for official NARCOA business or by law.

Users who receive nonpublic information through an account, administrative role, committee assignment, or accidental disclosure must not use or disclose it except as authorized by NARCOA.

SECTION 12 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES AND LINKS

The Website may link to or use services operated by third parties, including payment processors, membership platforms, mapping services, document hosts, email services, and affiliated organizations.

NARCOA does not control third-party websites or services and is not responsible for their content, availability, security, privacy practices, products, or transactions. A link does not necessarily mean that NARCOA endorses the third party or everything on its website.

Your use of a third-party service is governed by that provider’s terms and policies. Questions or claims concerning a third-party product, service, or transaction should be directed to that provider.

SECTION 13 – ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND SIGNATURES

By using the Website or providing an email address, you consent to receive Website-related communications electronically, including account notices, transaction receipts, membership reminders, and notices concerning these Terms, to the extent permitted by law.

Electronic acceptance of these Terms records your agreement to the Terms. It does not replace a handwritten signature when a separate NARCOA policy or document requires a signature by hand.

Under current NARCOA policy, official NARCOA documents—including the NARCOA Agreement, insurance applications, releases of liability or waiver forms, and inspection forms—must be signed by hand in ink unless the Board adopts a superseding policy.

A typed name, checked box, electronic acknowledgment, or online submission will not be treated as a valid signature on an official NARCOA document that requires a handwritten ink signature.

SECTION 14 – WEBSITE AVAILABILITY AND CHANGES

We may add, modify, suspend, restrict, or discontinue any part of the Website at any time. We may also perform maintenance or take emergency action without advance notice.

We do not guarantee that the Website will always be available, uninterrupted, secure, or error-free. We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including utility outages, communications failures, cyberattacks, natural disasters, severe weather, governmental action, or failures of third-party services.

SECTION 15 – DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE WEBSITE AND ITS CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.”

NARCOA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

NARCOA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT WEBSITE INFORMATION WILL ALWAYS BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR CURRENT.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain warranty exclusions. In those jurisdictions, these exclusions apply only to the extent permitted by law.

SECTION 16 – LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NARCOA AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, VOLUNTEERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND LICENSORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE WEBSITE, EVEN IF ADVISED THAT SUCH DAMAGES WERE POSSIBLE.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NARCOA’S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR A CLAIM ARISING SOLELY OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE WEBSITE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF:

1. The amount you paid NARCOA through the Website during the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim; or

2. One hundred U.S. dollars ($100).

These limitations do not apply to liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.

Separate releases, waivers, insurance documents, agreements, and activity rules govern claims arising from excursions, railroad operations, equipment use, or other NARCOA activities. The limitations in this section do not amend or replace those documents.

SECTION 17 – INDEMNIFICATION

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless NARCOA and its officers, directors, volunteers, employees, affiliates, agents, and service providers from third-party claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, costs, and reasonable attorneys’ fees arising from:

1. Your unlawful use of the Website.

2. Your material violation of these Terms.

3. Your infringement or violation of another party’s rights.

4. A Submission you provide.

NARCOA will provide reasonable notice of a covered claim and may control its defense and settlement. You may not settle a claim in a manner that admits fault by or imposes an obligation on NARCOA without NARCOA’s written consent.

This Website indemnification provision is separate from, and does not limit, any indemnification obligation contained in the NARCOA Agreement, a release, an excursion agreement, or another governing document.

SECTION 18 – COPYRIGHT COMPLAINTS

A person who believes that Website material infringes a copyright may send NARCOA a written notice identifying:

1. The copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.

2. The Website material claimed to be infringing and enough information to locate it.

3. The complaining party’s name and contact information.

4. A statement that the complaining party has a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized.

5. A statement that the information in the notice is accurate and that the complaining party is authorized to act for the copyright owner.

6. A physical or electronic signature.

Copyright notices should be sent to the contact listed in Section 26.

This section provides a general procedure for reporting alleged infringement. It does not state that NARCOA has designated an agent or completed the registration and procedures required to claim a safe harbor under the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act. NARCOA may adopt a separate DMCA policy and designated-agent procedure after these Terms are completed.

SECTION 19 – SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF WEBSITE OR CHAT GROUP ACCESS

You may stop using the Website at any time.

NARCOA may suspend or terminate Website or chat group access when reasonably necessary to enforce these Terms, protect security, comply with law, investigate suspected misconduct, prevent harm, or discontinue a service.

Termination of Website access does not automatically terminate or determine a person’s NARCOA membership, insurance status, excursion eligibility, operating privileges, or obligations under another agreement. Those matters are governed by the applicable bylaws, rules, policies, agreements, and disciplinary procedures.

Provisions that by their nature should survive termination—including provisions concerning ownership, licenses, confidentiality, disclaimers, liability, indemnification, and dispute terms—will survive.

SECTION 20 – GOVERNING LAW AND VENUE FOR WEBSITE DISPUTES

These Terms and disputes arising solely from access to or use of the Website are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules, and by applicable federal law.

Unless applicable law requires otherwise, any legal action arising solely from access to or use of the Website must be brought in a state court located in Delaware or in the United States District Court having jurisdiction in Delaware. You and NARCOA consent to the personal jurisdiction and venue of those courts.

This section applies only to Website disputes governed by these Terms.

It does not govern a dispute arising from an excursion, railroad operation, release, waiver, insurance matter, or other activity covered by a separate agreement. For example, the NARCOA Agreement provides that disputes arising from an excursion covered by that Agreement are to be decided in the jurisdiction where the excursion occurred.

SECTION 21 – SEVERABILITY

If a court finds any provision of these Terms unlawful, invalid, or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted and, if necessary, severed. The remaining provisions will continue in effect.

SECTION 22 – WAIVER

NARCOA’s failure to enforce a provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that provision or of the right to enforce it later. A waiver is effective only if it is in writing and authorized by NARCOA.

SECTION 23 – ENTIRE AGREEMENT AND ORDER OF PRECEDENCE

These Terms, together with policies and notices expressly incorporated into them, constitute the entire agreement concerning use of the Website.

They do not replace or amend NARCOA’s Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, Policy Book, Rulebook, Operations Manual, Board-approved policies, insurance documents, membership agreements, releases, excursion materials, railroad requirements, or other separate agreements.

The following order applies when documents address the same subject and conflict:

1. Applicable law.

2. NARCOA’s Articles of Incorporation.

3. NARCOA’s bylaws.

4. A specific signed agreement, release, or waiver governing the transaction or activity.

5. The current NARCOA Rulebook, Operations Manual, Policy Book, and other Board-approved policies, as applicable to their respective subjects.

6. These Terms for Website use.

7. General Website descriptions or informational material.

A more specific governing document controls over a more general document concerning the subject it specifically addresses.

SECTION 24 – CHANGES TO THESE TERMS

NARCOA may revise these Terms by posting an updated version on the Website and changing the “Last updated” date.

Changes apply prospectively when posted unless a later effective date is stated. When a change materially affects registered users, NARCOA may provide additional notice by email, account notice, publication in THE SETOFF, or another reasonable method.

Your continued use of the Website after revised Terms become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to a revision, you must stop using the Website.

SECTION 25 – NOTICES TO NARCOA

Notices concerning these Terms should be sent to:

NARCOA
P.O. Box 9035
Cincinnati, OH 45209

Email: narcoamembers@gmail.com

A legal notice should be sent by a trackable form of mail to the address above. Sending a courtesy copy by email is recommended but does not replace mailed notice when formal delivery is required.

SECTION 26 – CONTACT INFORMATION

Questions about these Terms may be sent to:

NARCOA
P.O. Box 9035
Cincinnati, OH 45209

Email: narcoamembers@gmail.com