RSI committee offers tank car recommendations

The Railway Supply Institute Committee on Tank Cars (RSICTC) is urging the federal Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to support rulemaking that would enhance the safety of the North American tank car fleet.

AAR to DOT: Upgrade tank car regs

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, urged the U.S. Department of Transportation “to press for improved federal tank car regulations by requiring all tank cars used to transport flammable liquids to be retrofitted or phased out, and new cars built to more stringent standards.”

Railcar report: Orders slowing; backlog remains

The Railway Supply Institute’s American Railway Car Institute (ARCI) Committee on Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, released its railcar industry order, delivery, and backlog statistics for the third quarter, with tank cars and covered hopper cars continuing to account for most activity.

My summer of ’68 (or: How a string of tank cars almost killed me!)

Those of you who know me well know that I was a brakeman on the Penn Central Railroad while in college. That was 45 years ago, but the recent crude-by-rail disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, has had me thinking back to my own near disaster involving tank cars in the summer of ’68.

A turning point for crude by rail?

After my most recent blog on the CBR (crude by rail) disaster in Canada, I fielded a lot of questions that, while they were often worded differently, all ended up asking whether or not I thought the “glory” days of CBR could be ending. Clearly, no one on the face of the earth can really know the answer to this particular question. But since my readers gave me points for accurately predicting that there eventually would be an accident of some kind, I feel prescient enough to tackle the question of CBR’s future.

American Railcar Industries logs strong 2Q

American Railcar Industries, Inc. (ARI) reported second-quarter earnings of $23.6 million, or $1.11 per share, late Wednesday, July 24, 2013, following the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, surpassing Wall Street consensus estimates of 82 cents per share. ARI earned 63 cents per share in the second quarter of 2012.

So now we know: They can blow up

Regular readers of this blog may remember that at the end of most of my writings on how the fracking industry is positively impacting our industry, I generally add a caveat regarding the future. I suggested that there would ultimately be one or more accidents involving crude-by-rail (CBR) or some of the NGLs (natural gas liquids) that fracking produces.

Tank car building drives a growing freight car market

Freight car building is in the tank—literally.

Tank cars drive 1Q railcar market

Figures released Wednesday by the Railway Supply Institute’s American Railway Car Institute (ARCI) Committee show 23,901 cars were ordered in the first quarter of 2013, while 11,952 cars were delivered, with a backlog of 71,704 cars, all up from the fourth quarter of 2012.

Valero sets tank car buy for crude processing

Valero Energy Corp., billed as the world’s largest independent refiner, plans to purchase 2,000 tank cars to increase shipment of crude oil to inland U.S. locations.
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