Tanker only trains. 2 “boxcars” behind the locomotives for protection.
1: What might be in those 2 “boxcars”? Might they be empty?
2: Do non-placard tanker trains ( i.e. soybean oil) also use that same protection?
See title…
Wouldn’t they be idler cars, like I see on the ethanol unit trains?
http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/107745/1243870.aspx#1243870
In those two boxcars? I’d guess it to be mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, cleverly blended in a unique 2:1 mixture.
The two boxcars likely have something inert in them for ballast, concrete perhaps or sand. The most likely lading in a solid train of tankcars is Denatured Ethanol.
Tankcars loaded with lading such as soybean oil do not require any idler cars.
Styrofoam ‘popcorn’?
No, I do believe the cars are empty unless they are loads which do not endanger themselves or the hazardous contents of the tanks…
Only hazardous, explosive, and flammables need spacers or idlers.
They use a spacer out here when telephone poles are next to the engines. Would there be a regulation in the United States governing heavy objects like logs and farm equipment (combines) next to the locomotives?
There probably would be a spacer between a load of poles and any car, not just the engine, because of the rigidity of the poles on curves and the clearence. The spacer would be an empty flat car while with tanks it could be any car just for the distance. And one empty flat car between loads of poles. That’s not government regulations, that’s knowing what you’re doing.
Never having to deal directly with unit ethanol trains, I can’t be sure, but I’ve heard tell that these cars are loaded cars, possibly with not much more than dirt. I would think that empty cars between the locomotive and a train of loads might cause a few issues.
SJ, this is a placarded-car issue only. We had a whole thread about this recently.
It’s also railroad rules not to put shiftable loads on non-bulkhead flats next to a locomotive, occupied cabin car (caboose), or hazmat car. May be a FRA thing, too…
BC - we have probably discussed everything including what kind of dirt is on the ground in a railroad yard, but I don’t 1: always read everything printed in the forum and 2: don’t remember 95% of it.
I ask because I saw it and it didn’t bring up any memories - only questions.
[:X]
Ideally, the buffer (spacer, cover, protection, etc) cars would be loaded, especially for a loaded ethanol train. However, sometimes the buffer car(s) are empty in a loaded train.
When the buffer(s) is/are empty in a loaded train, the train list will show a placement error of an empty car in a loaded unit train. The first time I saw that, I asked the condr, “Do you think they’ll want us to set it out?”[:-^]
Jeff
Could have anything in them, or nothing but air.
All buffer or cover cars have to be non hazmat, there are allowable placarded cars such as combustible class 3…no shiftable loads on flatcars unless the car has bulkheads, any pipe in gondolas must be loaded below the top…your boxes are non placarded and carry no haz mat so they are the cover cars.
Sorry, SJ–didn’t mean to make your hair stand on end!
The thread I was referring to didn’t mention the contents of the buffer cars, so it was a fresh question, and I think a bunch of folks provided the correct answer! However, it will tell you enough about these trains and the placement of cars around hazardous cars to keep you entertained on a slow weekend!
And what kind of brother would I be if I didn’t make some sort of memorable comment on your question?
Two boxcars full of dihydrogen monoxide? EEK!!
Although boxcars full of it probably wouldn’t be too dangerous, as most of it would leak out all over the right-of-way, covering the ties and rails with the substance. And when it turns to vapor, it is likely to be partially inhaled by anybody even close to the tracks. In addition, during the winter the substance becomes even more dangerous to have on the ties and ballast.
The railroad would be better off using a mixture of about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.1% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases; possibly with the addition of a variable amount of water vapor (on average around 1%).
Hydrogen and oxygen with a two to one ratio…dihydrogen monoxide…love it! Have a drink of water on me!
SJ, I think you must have sent some good (?) vibrations our way. On our way to work this morning (Pat was along–she needed the car) we chased an ethanol train through Elmhurst, headed around the yard. Then, while at work, we had three shoves that contained lots of cars of ethanol to be sorted out.
I wonder, which is more dangerous: dihydrogen monoxide or hydrogen hydroxide? Oh, oH,OH!
Dihydrogen monoxide. Don’t drink it. LOL.