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Placarding Practices - was Re: Freight Commodity Statistics
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Tim/anyone,
I like the car, Tim. Does anyone know the particulars in terms of dates and practices for placarding explosives? I'm asking "when did they start placarding cars for explosives, where was it placed, what did it look like, and what changes happened (and when)?". Is there a website somewhere that has this? Link? - Jim in the PNW |
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Jim, the placard I posted earlier was from 1948, so appropriate for the focus of this group.
As to the history, I found this https://www.hazmatnation.com/the-history-of-hazmat/ Dave |
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Dave Parker
On Sun, Feb 12, 2023 at 08:27 AM, Jim Betz wrote:
I'm asking "when did they start placardingA reasonable starting date would be 1908-009, which is when the (original) ARA and the ICC partnered to begin serious regulation of explosives transport. The earliest reference that I have is the 1909 jointly issued regs, although the ARA may have been mandating placards a few years prior. Search the Files section here for a letter from Paul Deis, and you will see that the EXPLOSIVES placard changed rather little through our period. This is from the 1923 ICC regs, and I'm going to guess that the guidance remained the same through the 1950s. There are ICC regs out there on the web from the thirties and forties which could verify (or refute) my guess.  Note the fine print concerning red ink for the largest lettering. I don't think the Deis chronology accurately reflects this practice. The reg were always printed in B&W, and the requirement for red lettering noted as seen here. Same story with the INFLAMMABLES placard. Hope this helps. -- Dave Parker Swall Meadows, CA |
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Early, non-standardize placards began to appear in the late 1800s, with the Pennsylvania Railroad being one of the early pioneers.
Bob Chaparro Hemet, CA 
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Due to the growing number of catastrophes, in 1907 the President of the Pennsylvania Railroad urged carriers to adopt regulations to promote the safe transportation of explosives. The Bureau of Explosives (BOE) was created under the American Railway Association that same year. The BOE immediately began inspecting shipments, encouraging improvements in shipping techniques and developing rules that formed the basis of modern regulations for hazardous shipments. The Interstate Commerce Commission Regulations for the Transportation of Explosives & Other Dangerous Articles also became effective in 1909. In 1914 the Master Car Builders Association adopted as a "Recommended Practice" placard board dimensions of 16" x 24" for use on house cars. On house cars they recommended a routing card board with space of not less than 51/2 by 9 inches for tacking cards on one door on each car side. Bob Chaparro |
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Dennis Storzek
On Mon, Feb 13, 2023 at 12:18 PM, Bob Chaparro wrote:
Early, non-standardize placards began to appear in the late 1800s, with the Pennsylvania Railroad being one of the early pioneers.I don't know that this placard is that early, considering the number that show up at train shows, or if it should even be in the class of hazardous material placards. It was used on ice reefers running in heater service, to warn of potential carbon monoxide build up in the car. Dennis Storzek |
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RICH CHAPIN
I agree an original of that sign would be highly unlikely: but very good copy machines are ubiquitous these days.
A Placard is required by Federal Regs [49cfr 172 subpart F] for shipments of hazardous material. A hazardous material is defined as “any chemical or item that is a risk to public safety or the environment when being transported or moved in commerce” [49cfr 171.8]. So, a Placard is really a warning. And that sign is clearly a warning. I would call it a progenitor of a placard, as the term "placard" came in with those earliest rules. [Please note: I'm talking about the USDOT definition of a hazardous material, which applies to transportation. There are other definitions of hazardous materials by other Federal and State agencies, such as the USDOL definitions under OSHA. And while they are all similar, there are also nuances that must always be looked at.] Rich Chapin |
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Chris Barkan
Mark Aldrich's 2002 article entitled, "Regulating Transportation of Hazardous Substances-Railroads and Reform, 1883-1930 - Explosives and Safety on the Railroad" (attached) is an excellent summary of the genesis of the Bureau of Explosives and the development of safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail.
-- Chris Barkan Champaign, IL |
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Stuart Forsyth
An interesting side note from WWII:
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The U.S. Army’s Chemical Warfare Service contracted with private entities to manufacture incendiary bombs during the War. Two of them (Western Stove Co. and Day & Night Flare Co.) operated the San Bernardino Bomb Loading Plant at Ono, the first station going up Cajon Pass from San Bernardino. It manufactured incendiary bombs. Movements of incendiary bombs were highly secret. Indeed, the Army never referred to them as such; it always called them “fireworks” in every communication. But every carload bore an “Explosives” placard, which was not so secret. Stuart A. Forsyth
forsyth@...
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