Sulfuric Acid train question

Not likely for spill response since any spill (derailment or leak) in the middle of train would be too far away from any hopper for its contents to be useful.  More likely to protect crew members and/or locomotives in case of accident.

Chuck

Think that has to do with what cars are permitted in which order and what can and cannot be directly coupled to the engine and what requires spacing away from the engine.

If you look at photos of trains carrying hazardous materials, there is always a spacer car between the engines and the rest of the train.  I have seen hoppers and boxcars and I assume that other types of cars are also used.  

I believe that there is a regulation requiring this safety measure.  I am sure that someone will know more about this.  

The March 2014 issue of Trains Magazine has an excellent article on oil trains.  There is a photo of a long Union Pacific oil train on page 26 without a spacer car.  The photo caption says that the train is empty returning to the oil field for another load.  Every photo of a loaded train in the article has a spacer car.  

Joe