1. Rail Car 101 Module Time: 20 minutes Materials:
Training Guide to Ethanol Emergency Response DVD
-Includes railcar specific video
Computer and projector/screen

2. Objective
Upon the completion of this module, participants will be able to describe rail transport of hazardous materials, focusing on denatured fuel ethanol.
Enabling Objectives
Describe general railroad statistics.
Describe the key attributes of the DOT111A type of rail car/tank car.
Identify a tank car that is transporting ethanol.
Describe common indicators that a tank car is not properly secured.

3. General Railroad Statistics
Hundreds of operating railroads in the U.S.
Tens of millions of railcar shipments each year
Over a hundred thousand miles of track in U.S.
Over a million railcars in service
Over a hundred thousand employees
According to the Association of American Railroads, there are 567 operating railroads in North America. The major North American freight railroads are: BNSF, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX Transportation, Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex), Kansas City Southern Railway, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern de Mexico and Union Pacific. The U.S. railroads operate 138,518 miles of track and transport 486, 671 freight cars. The railroads also employ 175,940 employees making the rail business critical to the economy of the U.S.

4. Railroad Statistics for Hazmat
Over a million loads of hazardous materials are shipped via rail
Ethanol is over a quarter of total number of hazmat shipments
About three-quarters of the transportation of ethanol is conducted via rail
Ethanol is over one percent of all railroad shipments
Every day hazardous materials are transported by rail from coast to coast and border to border. The rail industry has an exceptional safety track record at 99.99% arrival without incident. However, natural disasters and other incidents do happen, it’s important that emergency responders are prepared in the event that a tank car becomes derailed or involved in an accident.

5. Initial Noticeable Characteristics
In the following slides, important aspects of the DOT111A tank car are discussed. The DOT111A, a U.S. Department of Transportation designation, tank car is considered a general purpose tank car that may be used for hazardous and nonhazardous commodities that are not shipped under pressure. The expected lifetime of a DOT111A tank car is 40 years. The most common type of tank car that transports denatured fuel ethanol is the DOT111A type of tank car. Other hazardous materials that are transported in DOT111A are other flammable products like petroleum products, crude oil and caustic soda. DOT requires that shippers of hazardous materials, such as ethanol, ensure that the packaging used for the shipment of ethanol is in proper condition for transportation. Railroad tank cars are considered “packaging” by the DOT and therefore all shippers must ensure that the tank cars with loads or residues of hazardous materials are in good condition prior to offering them to the railroad for transportation.
It is important to recognize and be able to operate the safety equipment that is available on the DOT111A tank car; these devices are referred to as “safety appliances.” A safety appliance are components required on tank cars that are directly related to the safety of train crewmembers and other persons whose duties require being on or around tank cars. Safety appliances on tank cars include hand brakes, handholds or grab irons, ladders, uncoupling levers, sill steps and safety railings. All tank cars are inspected prior to release to the railroad. This diagram shows critical elements of the DOT111A tank car. Every tank car has an “A” and “B” end of the railcar; the “B” end of car is the end on which the hand brake is located. In this case, the “B” end of the car is shown on the right. The wheel depiction is the hand brake. The standard DOT111A tank car is uninsulated and does not contain interior heating coils.

6. Tank Car Body Stencil
The U.S. Department of Transportation prescribes the required marking for the side of the DOT111A tank car. This marking includes the last date of qualification and due date of next qualification. Additional specification information for the DOT 11A tank car can be found in Title 49 Department of Transportation, Code of Federal Register, Part 179 Specifications for Tank Cars. Note the location of the placard holder on the side of the tank car.

7. Tank Car End Stencil
Federal regulations also require that essential tank car information, such as the capacity, be “plainly and permanently stamped” onto the tank car.

8. Bottom Outlet Stencil
Additional critical information appears near the bottom outlet valve on the tank car. This information includes essential information on proper operation of the bottom outlet valve, securing procedure and proper venting techniques.

9. Placard Example Key characteristics: Placard color Hazard class
UN number
The most common placard used to designate denatured fuel ethanol is the UN1987 placard. Denatured fuel ethanol is categorized as a flammable due to it’s flash point thus requiring a red flammable placard. Flammable products are designated a Class 3 hazardous material. The most common hazardous material description and proper shipping name used for denatured fuel ethanol is “Alcohols, n.o.s. (not otherwise specified)”. This proper shipping name requires the identification number of “UN1987”.

10. Ethanol Concentration Preferred Proper Shipping Name
Ethanol Placarding
Ethanol Concentration
Preferred Proper Shipping Name
E1 to E10
Gasohol, UN 1203 or
Gasoline, UN 1203
E11 to E94
Ethanol and Gasoline mixture, UN 3475
E95 to E99
Denatured Alcohol, NA 1987 or
Alcohols n.o.s., UN 1987
E100
Ethanol, UN 1170 or
Ethyl Alcohol, UN 1170
Here are the most common proper shipping names and identification numbers associated with the corresponding ethanol concentrations. This table covers the entire range of ethanol concentrations that could be transported in the United States and includes beverage alcohol designations such as the E100 designation.
The first column uses the industry common language of EXX, where XX represents the volume % ethanol expected in the product.

11. Brakes Hand Air Holds the car in place
Prevents the tank car from moving and possibly causing further damage at incident site or harm to a responder
Air
If there is an incident, potential for a rapid release of air causing the hose and fittings to strike a responder
There are two types of braking mechanisms on the DOT111A tank car: hand brakes and air brakes. The hand brake is a mechanical style brake that is initiated through the wheel at the end of the tank car. The air brakes are more effective braking however the tank car must be connected to an air supply, such as a locomotive. It’s important to recognize the air brakes could be under pressure.

12. Hand Brake
This picture shows the operational site for the hand brake.

13. Air Brake
This is a diagram of the air brake system that is located under the DOT111A tank car.

14. Brake Cylinder

15. Double-Shelf Couplers
The coupler is a device located on both ends of all railcars and locomotives in a standard location to provide means for connecting one rail vehicle to another. The coupler uses a pivoting knuckle and internal mechanism that automatically locks when the knuckle is pushed closed either manually or by another coupler. Manual operation is needed to uncouple two railcars whose couplers are locked together.

16. Coupler
This is another angle view of the railcar coupler.

17. Tank Car Wheels Separated from Tank Car
The wheels and suspension systems of a tank car are referred to as the “truck bolster” or simply “trucks.” The trucks align with the tank of the railcar at the truck plate; the trucks and tank are held together simply through gravity. In the event of a derailment of a tank car, the trucks may separate from the tank, as seen in this rail incident site photo.

18. Valves
To avoid negative or positive, overpressure, situations inside the tank car, every tank car contains safety valves to release any build up or reduction in pressure from atmosphere. Shown here is a standard pressure relief valve, or “PRV”. The PRV is typically located adjacent to the top manway on a DOT111A tank car.

19. Vacuum Relief
To avoid negative or positive, overpressure, situations inside the tank car, every tank car contains safety valves to release any build up or reduction in pressure from atmosphere. Shown here is a standard vacuum relief valve, or “VRV”. The VRV is typically located adjacent to the top manway on a DOT111A tank car.

20. Top Operated Bottom Outlet Valve
There are several different DOT compliant bottom outlet valve types: top or bottom operated valves, ball or butterfly style valve styles. This photo shows a top operated bottom outlet valve - the mechanism for opening the bottom valve is located on the top of the tank car. Notice that all bottom outlet valves must have a liquid tight closure at it’s lower end.

21. Bottom Outlet Valve
This photo shows a bottom operated valve. The mechanism for opening the bottom valve is the handle adjacent to the valve itself. Notice that all bottom outlet valves must have a liquid tight closure at it’s lower end.

22. Butterfly
There are several different DOT compliant bottom outlet valve types; this photo shows a butterfly style valve.

23. Manway
The manway is the large opening on the top of a DOT111A tank car. There are either 6 or 8 locking style bolts that swing into place to secure the manway in the closed position. The manway is hinged on one side to allow for full open access to the interior of the tank car. The hinge is slotted to allow for depressurization and prevent the manway from uncontrolled opening should the bolts come loose. The minimum diameter of the manway is 16 inches.

24. Top Ethanol NAR Causes/Issues
Manway
Loose bolts
Gasket deteriorated/wrong type
Gasket misaligned
Gasket missing
Bottom outlet valve
Cap loose – Valve open
Cap loose – Valve closed
Of the more than 1.5 million tank car shipments that contain a hazardous material each year, the ethanol industry accounts for more than 330,000 shipments. Although nearly all of these shipments originate and arrive at their destination in a safe conditions, Non-Accident Releases (N.A.R.) do occur. The key to eliminating N.A.R. requires a high level process of assembly to ensure leak-free performance. Industry is focused on eliminating these N.A.R. and emergency responders need to recognize these situations.

25. Manway – Without Bolts
This photo shows the resting location of the manway bolts when not securing the manway in the closed position. The bolt resting position is 180° from the position when securing the manway.

26. Manway – Loose Bolts
If the manway bolts are not secured properly using lubricant and appropriate closing procedures, the bolts can come loose and there is a potential for release of product. A release of product can create an unsafe situation exposing risks to life, property and the environment. This type of incidental release of product is referred to as a Non-Accidental Release (N.A.R.)

27. Additional Resources
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
Federal Railway Administration (FRA)
Association of American Rail Roads (AAR)
Non-Accident Release Reduction Program (NAR)
Ultimately, rail transport of hazardous material is safe however it is important that emergency responders become familiar with this mode of transport. This module introduced topics such as:
General railroad statistics
DOT111A general service tank car overview
DOT111A standard markings
DOT111A hazardous material placards for denatured fuel ethanol
Recognizing the various commonly used placards for ethanol
Safety equipment on the DOT111A
Additional resources are available at the listed websites.