I frequently spot long tanker trains that have a hopper - sometimes empty - between the last head end locomotive and the 1st tank car of the train.
Is this to put a little extra disance between the crew and the cargo for safety?
Is this only done for hazmat loads or is it common practice?
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There has to be some sort of buffer cars between occupied cabooses, passenger cars, and locomotives from cars containing haz-mats. There are diagrams railroads use to determine which loads need these buffer cars.
Yes. Buffer between engines and loaded tankers. I see this all the time with oil and ethanol unit trains. Also commonly see either an empty hopper or boxcar on the end too.
Kent in SD
The "buffer car" is used for crew protection. Usually an air slide hopper that has multiple compartments but I've seen older grain hoppers used as well.
I believe it's a federal regulation that you can't run an engine next to a car loaded with anything flammable, so buffer cars are used as spacers. Generally the cars are ballasted for weight / stability; I know some are filled with stones.
RR's will also do this for pipe loads any anything that can smash into the cab if it were to break free during emergency braking. Lumber on bulk head flats is generally not an issue, but pipe loads are.
Also in cases of the hazmat tankers, I have heard sometimes the carrier will have designated cars that have been filled with concrete for barriers between the load and the loco.
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