Dave,The railroads requested and received permission to use a single buffer car on oil tank trains not the required 6 as required by FRA rules.
Oil is considered a hazardous load.
The rule is 5 buffer cars, train length permitting for loads. If train length does not permit, use all available buffer cars with a minimum of one being required. Empty cars/trains only require one buffer car.
If a loaded ethanol or oil train is operated in DP mode it needs at least one buffer car between the train and each set of engines. If for some reason (say for failure of the DP equipment) the rear engine is moved forward to the lead consist, that buffer car on the rear also has to be switched to the front end.
The reason being that in DP mode train length only permitted one buffer on each end. Once conventionalized, the train length now permits two buffer cars on the head end.
Jeff
What Jeff said.
The rules require the engines or occupied car be the 6th car from the hazardous tank, length permitting. When the train length doesn’t permit, there must be at least one car of cover. A unit hazmat train has no cover (train length doesn’t permit 6 cars) so the minimum of one car has to be added. This applies to oils, trains and ethanol trains alike (as well as any other train with hazmat in it).
Dave and Jeff,I believe that’s what I said concerning oil tank trains…One buffer car.
Question: I heard that Ethonal trains use the buffer cars to also carry corn scraps. Is this true?
But its not special exemption or permission or a certificate. Its the way it workd for ANY hazmat on ANY train. Same rules apply, its not a oil train or ethanol thing.
They certainly could, it wouldn’t make any sense, but they could do it. Empty or loaded with something inert that wouldn’t rot would be a better choice.