b. Nonfishbelly. Percentages for nonfishbelly cars are lower than for
fishbelly. A lengthwise load 10 feet or less can equal only 66.6 percent of
the stenciled load limit, while a load measuring between 10 and 24 feet can
weigh 75 percent. Over 24 feet, and still located between truck centers,
the load can equal 90 percent of the limit. A load extending beyond the
truck centers can weigh 100 percent of the load limit.
1.15. RULE 4eCENTER OF GRAVITY
Although not a separate rule, 4e is emphasized because of its
significance to the shipper. Center of gravity (CG) figures importantly in
loading a flatcar regardless of design. The problem is to balance the load
on the car, lining up the load's center of gravity with the center of the
car as closely as possible. Perhaps you can think of some military
equipment that cannot be balanced in the center of a flatcar; for example, a
crane with boom attached. To insure that loads are properly balanced on the
car, the AAR has established rules for loading items that are not centered
on the car but whose length is less than the distance between truck centers.
The diagram on the next page shows the location of CG in relation to the
ratio of load weight to load limit. For example, if your load weighs 75
percent of the stenciled load limit, its CG must not be placed closer to
truck centers than onethird of the distance between truck centers. Again,
if your shipment weighs 87 percent of the load limit, its center of gravity
could be situated anywhere in the middle oneseventh of the deck between
truck centers. Notice that as the load weight increases, the farther the
load's center of gravity must be from the truck centers. Whereas the CG of
a load weighing only 87 percent of the load limit may be placed anywhere in
the center oneseventh of the deck between truck centers, the CG of a 90
percent load is limited to the middle onetenth. Thus:
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