1) I've noticed that ethanol unit trains that pass through town tend to have one boxcar up front, and one boxcar with the FRED at the rear. All other cars are tankers. Typically, two NS locos are on the point.
2) I've also noticed that full tankers are not left on rail overpasses. A long train is decoupled such that cars awaiting delivery do not stand on bridges.
Are there official rules relating to 1) and 2)? If so, what are they?
RJ Emery near Santa Fe, NM
rjemery 1) I've noticed that ethanol unit trains that pass through town tend to have one boxcar up front, and one boxcar with the FRED at the rear. All other cars are tankers. Typically, two NS locos are on the point. 2) I've also noticed that full tankers are not left on rail overpasses. A long train is decoupled such that cars awaiting delivery do not stand on bridges. Are there official rules relating to 1) and 2)? If so, what are they?
1. Cover (or Buffer) cars are required between locomotives and unit HAZMAT trains (Ethanol and Oil fit this discription). Some territories require manned helpers on the rear of the trains, thus the Cover car on the rear of the train. Personal observation, cover cars are normally covered hoppers loaded with sand - not box cars, although the regulations do not specify what kinds of cover cars are required other than they cannot be HAZMAT and they cannot contain a shiftable load that has the potential to puncture the HAZMAT. Carriers prefer loaded covered hoppers account of train handling dynamics.
I am not aware of specific rules covering 2. although they may be specified by TTSI in the area you are viewing.
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I'm betting that when you see an ethanol train with one buffer on each end, it is an empty train. If it were a loaded train, it would be a placement error because you didn't use all available buffer cars. Loaded tank cars, for those that require buffers-not all commodities do, require 5 if available. Minimum of one between the hazmat and an engine. If you have two available, they would both need to be used by the engines. Empties only require one buffer.
Often loaded ethanol trains are ran in DP mode. They require at least one buffer between the tank cars and the engine. So you have one at each end. The empties returning home are often run in conventional mode. Since the empties only require one buffer there's no reason to switch the rear buffer to the head end.
Jeff
jeffhergert I'm betting that when you see an ethanol train with one buffer on each end, it is an empty train. If it were a loaded train, it would be a placement error because you didn't use all available buffer cars. Loaded tank cars, for those that require buffers-not all commodities do, require 5 if available. Minimum of one between the hazmat and an engine. If you have two available, they would both need to be used by the engines. Empties only require one buffer. Often loaded ethanol trains are ran in DP mode. They require at least one buffer between the tank cars and the engine. So you have one at each end. The empties returning home are often run in conventional mode. Since the empties only require one buffer there's no reason to switch the rear buffer to the head end. Jeff
You would probably lose the bet. The train that sparked my query was inbound to the Motiva plant.
There was no distributed power on this particular train. In fact, I've never seen DP power used on any trains traversing New Jersey. There is no need for DP power owing to the flat terrain of the state. Moreover, DP power is primarily used on very long trains. If a long train were stopped, it would block too many grade crossings. Many rail improvements were paid for by the State, and I suspect part of the agreement between the State and Conrail Shared Assets restricted the length of trains as well as the idling of locomotives in yards.
Tank cars are stored in a yard south of the Motiva plant. Having buffer cars on both ends would save makeup manuevers for outbound consists. Good call on your part.
BaltACDPersonal observation, cover cars are normally covered hoppers loaded with sand - not box cars, although the regulations do not specify what kinds of cover cars are required other than they cannot be HAZMAT and they cannot contain a shiftable load that has the potential to puncture the HAZMAT. Carriers prefer loaded covered hoppers account of train handling dynamics.
We have rules above and beyond that. The cover cars have to be at least 45 tons, and not more than 80' long (and maybe not less than 45'... have to look it up). May be soemthing else, too.
As far as a buffer front and rear, it does cover for pusher service, and hazmat rules do vary between railroads a bit. (I've looked at some other RR's charts). For us - if you don't have 5 buffer cars, then the loaded hazmat (of certain classes) should be placed in the middle.
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Knowingly operating a loaded ethanol conventionally (all power on the head end) with a buffer car at each end could lead to discipline where I work. The train length permits the use of two buffers in this case.
I ran into this a few weeks ago. We picked up a unit ethanol train, all power on the head end. The crew we received it from had put it together. They gave us their hand written list with the actual sequence of cars. The computer generated list had all cars listed, but not the right sequence. The computer list showed a placement error of a buffer at both ends. The crew said it wasn't there, only one buffer car between the power and the train.
180 miles later as we're approaching the next crew change point. The dispatcher comes on and says we have a buffer on the rear and it needs to be switched to the front. We tell him the story. (Despite going past a few AEI readers, it didn't completely update the train list. It still showed that rear buffer.) It was decided for us to change crews and we would roll it by to verify the consist. We did this, and lo and behold, no buffer car on the rear end.
Past discussions here on buffer cars tended to offer that a buffer was left on each end for ease of handling - you would't need to move the buffer car to the other end if you moved the power to the other end (assumes no loop track).
We have a timetable rule that trains do not stop on bridges. Could be a similar rule exists where you observe the phenomenon. Too, depending on the bridge, inspecting the train before moving could be a problem if there are no handrails, etc.
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Is the rule that trains can't stop on bridges, because the crew might not have walking access to the back of the train beyond the bridge?
RR around here now has a rule to not park a train on bridges because before that rule was made, high winds blew a parked train off a bridge. It made an interesting sight to see a string of cars dangling off the side of the bridge from one end to the other; still linked together by the couplers.
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