(g) Switching. (1) When handling cars placarded "Explosives" in yards or on sidings, explosives cars must be coupled to engine, electric locomotive, or motor car, protected by a car between.

(2) Cars placarded "Explosives" must not be handled in switching or in trains with doors open.

(h) Reduction of hazards. Cars placarded "Explosives" must not be cut off while in motion, and must be coupled carefully and all unnecessary shocks must be avoided. Other cars must not be cut off and allowed to strike a car containing explosives. Cars placarded "Explosives" must be so placed in yards or on sidings that they will be subject to as little handling as possible and be removed from all danger of fire. Such cars must not be placed on tracks under bridges and should not be placed in or alongside passenger sheds or stations; and, when avoidable, engines on parallel tracks must not be allowed to stand opposite or near them.

(i) Precautions in yards. When cars protected by "Explosives," "Inflammable," "Corrosive Liquid," "Compressed Gas," "Poisonous," or "Poison Gas," placards are received or held in yards, particularly at night, the carrier must see that all necessary precautions are taken to prevent accidents. These precautions must include provision for quickly removing and isolating the cars in case of fire. When such cars are held in yards for a period longer than 12 hours, they must be placed where they will be readily accessible for prompt removal in case of fire or explosion. Separate track or tracks, when available, must be designated at terminal, classification or receiving yards for such cars, and cars must be coupled at all times during such holding. The carrier's representative in charge must be informed at all times of the presence and location of such cars.**

(j) Inspection; notice of set out. At points where trains stop and time permits, cars placarded "Explosives," and adjacent cars, must be examined to see that they are in good condition and free from hot boxes or other defects liable to cause damage. If such cars are set out short of destination for any cause, carrier must give necessary notice thereof to prevent accident.

(k) Precautions after opening, rough treatment, leakage. Whenever a car placarded "Explosives" is opened for any purpose, and in every instance after such a car has received rough treatment, inspection must be made of the packages of explosives as soon as practicable without unnecessary disturbance of lading, to see that they are properly loaded and stayed and in good condition. Upon the discovery of leaking or broken packages they must be carefully removed to a safe place. Loose powder or other explosives must be swept up and carefully removed. If the floor is wet with nitroglycerin the car is unsafe to use, and a representative of the Bureau of Explosives should be immediately called to superintend the thorough mopping and washing of the floor with a warm, saturated solution of concentrated eye or sodium carbonate. If necessary, the car must be placed on an isolated siding and proper notice given.

(1) Attachment of placards verified by carrier; records. (1) The carrier must verify the attachment of proper placards by the

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shipper as soon as a car requiring placards is accepted by the carrier for transportation.

(2) A daily record showing the initials and numbers of all loaded placarded cars must be kept on file at originating stations, transfer stations, and interchange points.

(m) Placarded cars handled carefully; express and baggage cars in freight trains. (1) Special care must be taken to avoid rough treatment and unnecessary switching of placarded cars.

(2) When an express or baggage car containing any package requiring a label prescribed by the regulations in Parts 81, 82, is not occupied by an express employee and is handled in a freight train, the proper placards must be attached thereto as required by the regulations for the transportation of explosives, and the regulations for the transportation of dangerous articles other than explosives, by freight.

(n) Cars requiring placards held, lost placards replaced. A car must not be moved from a station, yard, or siding, if known to require placards, until the proper placards are attached. Placards lost from loaded cars in transit must be replaced by carrier.

(0) Brakes of placarded cars in condition; ladder tracks clear in switching. In classification yards and in switching it must be determined by inspection and trial that a car placarded "Inflammable," "Corrosive Liquid," "Compressed Gas," "Poisonous," or "Poison Gas," has its brakes in good operating condition before a draft containing it is cut. A placarded loaded tank car must not be started down a ladder track, incline, or hump, until all preceding cars have cleared the ladder, and must, in turn, clear the ladder before any car is allowed to follow. (p) Inspection of cars for hot journals. Cars bearing "Inflammable" placards and cars adjacent to them must be watched with extra care to discover hot journals.

(q) Leakage evidenced by odors; precautions. Leakage of dangerous articles is often accompanied by odors characteristic of the articles, and all available opportunities for noting such odors must be utilized in order that the source of leakage may be discovered and the leakage stopped, or the leaking package removed from the car, or the contents of tank cars transferred. If artificial light is necessary, only electric lights should be used. Leaking tank cars containing compressed gases should be switched to a location distant from habitation and proper action taken for transferring contents under competent supervision.**

(r) Protection of leaking cars. Cars containing leaking packages or leaking tank cars must be protected against ignition of liquid or vapors by flame of inspector's lanterns or torches, by burning fusees, by switchlights, by switch-thawing flames, by fires on side of track, by hot coals from locomotives, or otherwise. All unnecessary movement of a car discovered in transit in leaking condition must cease until the unsafe condition is remedied. (See paragraph (s) of this section, §§ 80.296 (a)-(e), 80.304, 80.305.)

(s) Inflammable liquids and compressed gases in tank cars. Tank cars containing inflammable liquids having a flash point of 80° F. or below, except liquid road asphalt, must not be shipped and must not be delivered, unless originally consigned or subsequently

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reconsigned to parties having private-siding or railroad-siding facilities, equipped for piping the liquid from tank cars to permanent storage tanks of sufficient capacity to receive contents of car. [As amended Apr. 7, 1931]

Tank cars placarded "Inflammable" that are to be offered in interchange should be inspected on the track where transfer is assembled for delivery to receiving line. If such cars are found in leaking condition they must not be offered in interchange. Where actual interchange to receiving line is distant from point of delivery by delivering line, and repair or transfer facilities are provided, if such cars develop leaks en route to the receiving-line interchange track, the receiving line should accept the cars, taking every possible precaution to prevent ignition of contents or personal contact with leakage or inhalation of vapor, and to handle the cars as indicated in paragraph (q) of this section and § 80.296. [As added Dec. 15, 1931]

No tank car containing compressed gas may be offered or accepted for transportation unless the car is consigned for delivery and unloading on a private track (see note 1), where available. For cars of ICC 106A type, the tanks must be filled and placed in position and attached to the car structure by the shipper. Where no private track is available, delivery and unloading may be made as follows: [As added Oct. 14, 1932]

(1) Any tank car of ICC 106A type may be delivered and the charged unit tanks may be removed from car frame on carrier tracks, if, before car is offered or accepted for transportation, the shipper has obtained from the delivering carrier and filed with originating carrier, written permission (see note 2) for such removal. The consignee must furnish adequately safe mechanical hoist, obtained from the carrier if desirable, by which the tanks are lifted from the car and deposited directly upon vehicles furnished by the consignee for immediate removal from carrier property. [As added Oct. 14, 1932]

(2) Any tank car of other than ICC 106A type, containing liquefied hydrocarbon or liquefied petroleum gas, and having liquid and vapor eduction lines equipped with check valves, may be delivered and unloaded on carrier tracks, if the lading is piped directly from car to permanent storage of sufficient capacity to receive contents of car. As amended Aug. 27, 1936, 1 F.R. 1367]

NOTE 1: For this purpose, a private track is a track outside of carrier's rightof-way, yard, and terminals, and of which the carrier does not own either the rails, ties, roadbed or right-of-way; or a track or portion of a track which is devoted to the purpose of its user, either by lease or written agreement, in which case the lease or written agreement will be considered as equivalent to ownership. [As added Oct. 14, 1932]

NOTE 2: Carriers should give permission for the unloading of these containers on carrier tracks only where no private siding is available within reasonable trucking distance of final destination. The danger involved is the release of chlorine gas due to accidental injury to container in handling. The exposure to this danger decreases directly with the isolation of the unloading point. added Oct. 14, 1932]

[As Tanks must be lifted by adequately safe mechanical hoist from car directly to lighter or other vessel for further transportation. [As added Nov. 1, 1934] ** [Pars. 672–690]

Page 1080

*For statutory citation, see note to § 80.1.

80.296 Leaking tank cars-(a) Precautions. Action in any particular case will depend upon existing conditions, and good judgment will be necessary to avoid disastrous fires on the one hand and useless sacrifice of valuable property on the other.

Volatile, inflammable, and combustible liquids, or inflammable liquefied gases, such as gasoline, naphtha, petroleum oils, or liquefied petroleum gas, in large quantity and spread over a large surface, will form vapors that will ignite at a considerable distance, depending on the kind and quantity of liquid and the direction and force of the wind. Many of the liquids, regarded as safe to carry under ordinary conditions and transported in tank cars without the "Inflammable" placard, should still be treated as dangerous in handling a wreck.

(b) Use of electric lights. When tank cars are leaking, all lights or fires near them should be extinguished or removed until it is determined that contents is not inflammable or combustible. Incandescent electric lights or portable electric flash-lights should be used when available.

(c) Sources of fire kept away. Lanterns necessarily used for signaling should be kept on the side from which the wind is blowing and at as high an elevation as can be obtained. The vapors will go with the wind but not against it. The ash pan and fire box of a locomotive or steam derrick are sources of danger, especially when wind is blowing across the wrecked or leaking tank car toward them. Wrecks involving tank cars should in no case be approached with lighted pipes, cigars, or cigarettes, and all spectators should be kept

away.

(d) Leakage confined, covered with earth. Effort should be made to prevent the spread of liquid leakage over a large surface by collecting it in any available vessels or draining it into a hole or depression at a safe distance from the track. When necessary, trenches should be dug for this purpose.

It is not safe to drain inflammable or combustible liquids in large quantities into a sewer, since vapors may thus be carried to distant points and there ignited. Care should be exercised also not to permit these liquids to drain into streams of water which may be used by irrigation plants or for watering stock. Dry earth over spilled liquid will decrease the rate of evaporation and the danger. A stream of these liquids on the ground should be dammed and dry earth thrown on the liquid as it collects.

(e) Handling wreckage. Sudden shocks or jars that might produce sparks or friction should be avoided. When possible, the wrecked cars should be jacked carefully into position after removing other cars and freight that might be injured by fire. Only as a last resort, to meet an emergency, should a wrecked car be removed by dragging, and when this is done all persons should be kept at a safe distance.

(f) Transfer of lading, marking. (1) No unnecessary attempt should be made to transport a damaged tank car from which inflammable or combustible liquid is leaking. Safety in short movements may be secured by attaching a vessel under small leaks to prevent

Page 1081 [1081]

spread of these liquids over tracks. Tracks at intervals in rear of a moving car should be covered with fresh earth to prevent fire overtaking the car. Engines should be kept away; also spectators who may be smoking. If derailed, and not in a position to obstruct or endanger traffic, leaks should be stopped as far as possible, and the car should be left under guard until another tank car or sufficient vessels can be provided for the transfer of the liquid, which should be transferred by pumping when practicable.

(2) Highly volatile products such as casinghead gasoline can not be transferred in the usual way by a vacuum pump. The pump can only be used when placed so that liquid flows to it from the tank by gravity.

(3) Whenever the leaking condition of a tank car is such that transfer of lading is necessary, the car must be stenciled on both sides, in letters three inches in size, adjacent to the car number, "Leaky Tank. Do Not Load Until Repaired," and at the location of the leak "X," and the owner must be immediately notified, such notification to indicate definitely location of leak. Stenciling must not be removed until the tank is repaired.

Even a tank that is not leaking is liable to be ruptured by the use of slings, and slipping of chain slings may produce sparks. Saving of the contents of the tank is not as important as the prevention of fire.** [Pars. 691–696 (c)]

80.297 Repairs to tank cars; inflammable vapors-(a) Reports. Any welded tank after repairs or any riveted tank requiring extensive riveting or recalking must have tank and safety valves retested as prescribed in § 80.100 (d) before the tank is returned to service.

A tank that bears evidence of damage to the metal by fire must be withdrawn from transportation service: Provided, however, That where the damage to the tank is local only, or confined to a section not exceeding 25 percent of the tank surface, the damaged material may be replaced. (See § 80.100 (b) (2).)

After alterations of tanks or equipment therefor, from original design, a certificate of compliance with the specifications similar to that required in specifications 103, 105A300, 106A500, 107A3350, and 108, respectively, must be furnished to the car owner, to the Bureau of Explosives and to the secretary, mechanical division, American Railway Association.

(b) Empty tank cars. An empty or partially empty tank car, with or without placards, is very liable to contain explosive gases, and open flame lights must not be brought near it.*+ [Par. 696 (2), (e)]

80.298 Tank car unloading precautions. In unloading tank cars of inflammable liquids, the following rules must be observed:

Unloading operations should be performed only by reliable persons properly instructed and made responsible for careful compliance with the regulations in Parts 72-80.

(a) Brakes must be set and wheels blocked on all cars being unloaded.

(b) Caution signs must be so placed on the track or car as to give necessary warning to persons approaching car from open end or

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*For statutory citation, see note to § 80.1.