Effective October 1, 2008 – Customers that ship in open top railcars, such as gondola and flat cars, are reminded of  changes to the AAR Open Top Loading Rules for seal-joint banding announced in December 2007.

Section 1, General Rules, Part 2, Rule 17.5.2 states:

Effective October 1, 2008, notch-type joints may be used only for packaging, unitizing, interlacing, layer, or encircling band applications and may not be used to secure loads to the car or on bands encircling the entire load of a floating load design. Unless otherwise specified, applicable crimp-type joints may be used for all seal-joint banding applications for open top loading.

Please ensure that you have the required tooling to comply with the changes above. If you have any questions, you may contact Bob Pollard of the CN Mechanical Department, at 905-669-3366.