Transporting a heat exchanger I
n the commercial world of natural gases, there are large devices that convert air and gas into various liquid gases through a process of super cooling. The largest manufacturer of these in- dustrial components is Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Headquartered in Allentown, Penn-
sylvania, Air Products is an international supplier of industrial gases, chemicals, equipment and technology services. The company’s Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, facility has manufactured cryo- genic equipment for air separation and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other element gas process- es since 1955. Among the industrial products Air Products turns out are heat exchangers, cold box- es, tanks and vaporizers. The company makes over 200 units a year, and Air Products equipment produces over 85 percent of the world’s LNG, not to mention oxygen, hydrogen, helium, argon, ni- trogen and other rare gases. Upon completion, the equipment is shipped to customers by various methods of transportation; it depends on the product. For example, special trains are used for large units that do not fit on trucks or roadways. In a typical year, Air Products ships at least two or three of its mammoth heat exchangers via rail. Heat exchangers are huge. They look like a rocket and measure more than half the length of a football field. They are packed with miles of intricate aluminum and stainless steel tubing and valves engineered into super-efficient refrigeration circuits. When they are upright, a 300-ton distillation column reaches the height of a ten-story tower. As air or natural gas is piped in, its temperature will plunge to minus 260 degrees to convert it into a liquid comprising various gases. With dimensions that can reach 180 feet with a 15 foot diameter, these long vessels are true high and wide loads. They are shipped on their sides and to hold them in place customized jigs and holding fixtures must be installed on the flat car deck. Since units can cost around 20 million dol- lars, extra safety rigging is added to ensure limited movement of the load in case of sudden jerks and to keep it from becoming unbalanced during the trip. On a train, they are referred to as excess dimensional loads and numbered with a specific iden-
tification. Conrail, for example, used “SPL” (for special) and a number to identify its high-wide movement trains. These special movements operate between other scheduled trains since clear- ances may be an issue. For handling details, the employee timetables usually have specific instruc- tions and restrictions. Restrictions can include overhead and side clearances, such as station island platforms, track limits, etc. On turns, the extended load will “grow” due to the swinging arc. Regu- lations are constantly evolving as the company and railroads learn from experience. Car inspectors must keep up with the latest “rules of the road.” These consignments are always an impressive sight to see on the rails. The consist will include one or two diesels, a flat car used as a spacer due to the overhang, the flat car carrying the unit with impact and shifting monitors cabled back to the caboose, another spacer flat car and the Air Products green and white caboose where the company rider monitors the load. Sometimes a video camera aimed at the load will provide evidence of movement. For modelers, an open load of oversize cargo is certainly eye-catching and it can spice up opera- tions on your railroad. Remember, if you are modeling an excess dimension load, you need to add a few extra details so that the model looks secure on the flat car. You don’t need an on-line industry to ship or receive the load, either; you can model it simply as a freight car passing over your rail- road en route to its destination.
An oversized load can also be a great conversational subject. In my case, my father-in-law worked at a small steel plant in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, that provided stainless steel tubes and minor parts used in the heat exchangers. Every time I visit the area I always look in the yard to see what Air Products is making. Sometimes the Air Products wide-vision caboose is sitting on the lead track. The connecting railroad will pick up the special train at Air Products and move it to a yard until it has clearance for the mainline. In 2012, the one hundredth heat exchanger traveled the rails. For many shipments, a rail destination will be a dock on the East Coast for transfer to a ship. For smaller units, such as cold boxes, they may fit on one flat car but may have a slight overhang. At times, a unit may be fitted to ride as a rail bogie, made up with Buckeye trucks (ex-PRR F-143 type). They will return cabled together. These giant heat exchangers are shipped worldwide. They have been sent to chemical plants lo- cated in countries such as Abu Dhabi, Australia, Brunei, China, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman and Qatar.
MICHAEL COLLINS 38
APRIL 2014
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