IMPACT TESTS OF BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD TWO-POCKET FIFTY-TON HOPPER CAR LOADED WITH FERROMANGANESE

This report covers the results of a series of impact tests with a two-pocket fifty-ton hopper car loaded with ferromanganese. The purpose of this series of impact tests was to determine the safety of shipping this dense commodity in a standard hopper car that has auxiliary bracing between the hopper doors and also to determine the extent of the damage that can normally be expected on the hopper pockets and door equipment when the car is subjected to over-solid impacts. The following conclusions were made. The Baltimore and Ohio two-pocket hopper car, Class N-44, is representative of equipment that can be safely used to transport ferromanganese if the hopper doors are properly braced in the same manner used in this series of tests. The results of this test show that it is reasonable to expect a certain amount of bulging and distortion to the hopper doors, frames, and the hopper sheets adjacent to the door when ferromanganese is transported in this type car when the car is subjected to impacts at speeds of 6 mph or greater. The impacts in this series of tests were as high as 10.9 mph, which is higher than would be expected in normal service.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • See also AAR MR-321 for similar studies.
• Corporate Authors:

  Association of American Railroads

  3140 South Federal Street
  Chicago, IL  United States  60605
• Publication Date: 1959-4

Media Info

• Pagination: 1 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commodities; Crashes; Freight cars; Freight transportation; Hopper cars; Railroad cars; Safety; Technology; Vehicle dynamics
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Old TRIS Terms: Car impact
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00040373
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: AAR MR-350 Res Rpt
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 8 1994 12:00AM