Railcar Doorway Securement

Change to Rule 7 of AAR's Circular No. 42-K

Posted on April 13, 2017 by Erik Burden

At the beginning of the year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Damage Prevention & Freight Claim Committee made changes to Rule 7 in their Doorway Protection, Circular No. 42-K. Rule 7 of AAR’s Circular No. 42-K previously stated that when the cargo within a container has the potential to move towards the doorway or make contact with the sliding or plug type doors of a container, the doorway must be secured with equipment that has sufficient strength to withhold the weight of the cargo. Rule 7 now presents the same statement, but also expresses that lumber wedging is no longer an acceptable method of securing the doorways of cargo containers.

If you previously used lumber wedging as a mode of securing doorways and are now in need of an alternative method, you can use synthetic strapping. Non-metallic strapping may be the preferred method as it’s a safer and more cost effective solution to steel strapping. Approved and recommended by the AAR, our Tex-Steel Cord Strapping™ is an excellent way to replace steel strapping and lumber wedging used for doorway protection in railcars.

The AAR Approved markings on our strapping are visible and can be easily referenced when needed. When using Complete Packaging Systems Tex-Steel Cord Strapping™ to replace other doorway securement practices, be sure to use the appropriate application methods and buckles. It is also important that our customers use the proper conversion when replacing steel with synthetic strap. When threading the buckles, our customers can refer to our online resource videos for step by step instructions. Furthermore, to tighten the strap, confirm that the correct tensioner is used with the appropriate strapping.

We have a variety of different widths, lengths, and break strengths of strapping for other cargo securement purposes and applications. To find out more about the variety of strapping we offer, visit our websites Tex-Steel Cord Strapping™ page.

Complete Packaging Systems always recommends our customers follow and try to exceed the standards set out by the AAR when securing their cargo containers. For more information about the use of Tex-Steel Cord Strapping™ in doorways, please contact our load consultation services by calling toll-free at 1-866-858-8800. To review the details about Rule 7 in Doorway Protection, Circular No. 42-K, please visit AAR’s website.

Edited by: Stephanie Irvine