AAR Open Top Loading Rules (OTLR) Committee

The Open Top Loading Rules (OTLR) Committee is a standing committee of the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Its mission is to provide rules that ensure the safe, uniform, and economical securement of commodities transported on open-top railcars, for the benefit of the rail industry, their shipping customers, and the general public.

Open-top cars, such as flatcars, gondolas, and similar equipment, carry loads that are not enclosed, including lumber, pipe, steel, machinery, vehicles, and other dimensional or bulk freight. Because such loads must be blocked, braced, and tied down so they do not shift or fall during transit, the committee develops and maintains the loading and securement rules that shippers and railroads follow when preparing these cars for movement in interchange service.

By standardizing how open-top loads are secured, the OTLR Committee helps prevent load shifts and falling-object hazards that could endanger train crews, lineside communities, and the freight itself. Its rules give shippers a common, industry-accepted method for loading open-top equipment that will be accepted across the North American network.

Committee page: https://aar.com/standards/OpenTop.html