Tank car

The following major events occurred in the years noted: Many variants exist due to the wide variety of liquids and gases transported.

Tank cars can be pressurized or non-pressurized, insulated or non-insulated, and designed for single or multiple commodities.

Combinations of the two types were attempted, such as boxcars with fluid tanks slung beneath the floors.

While the car could certainly carry a load in both directions, the limited tank size made this unsuccessful.

Tank cars carrying dangerous goods are generally made of different types of steel, depending on the intended cargo and operating pressure.

All tank cars operating throughout North America today feature AAR Type E double shelf couplers that are designed to prevent disengaging in event of an accident or derailment.

The DOT-111 tank car, designed to carry liquids such as denatured fuel ethanol, is built to a US standard.

One of these tank cars exploded in Waverly, Tennessee, killing 16, when a Louisville & Nashville train derailed.

The tank, which is made from stainless steel, is held within a box-shaped frame with the same shape as an intermodal container.

The thermally-insulated vessel is mounted on trunnions, and designed to endure extremely high temperatures, as well as keeping the metal in a molten state over extended periods of time.

The car's underframe included all of the modern facets of freight car design including roller bearing trucks and cushioning devices built by FreightMaster, while the tank that rode on it, made of Douglas fir, had a capacity of 17,100 US gallons (65 m3; 14,200 imp gal).

[10] Vinegar is now moved in ordinary tank cars lined with glass, plastic, or alloy steel.

The largest tank car ever placed into regular service, UTLX #83699, was rated at 50,000 US gallons (189 m3; 41,634 imp gal).

This car is 98 feet (29.87 m) long, weighs 175,000 lb (79,400 kg) empty and rides on four two-axle trucks for weight distribution.

It is also preferable if each tap (valve) is recessed within the body of the tank so as to present a reduced knock-off hazard during a derailment.