Patent ID: 7458756

Claim:
A method for loading tube bundles on a railcar having a bed and bulkheads, comprising affixing resilient sheet material to the bulkheads; affixing resilient sheet material to either side of four panels; placing tube bundles lengthwise on the bed and stacked above the bed to form six packs of multiple tube bundles between the bulkheads; closely abutting a first and second one of the packs against the bulkheads with little or no longitudinal space between the respective first and second packs and bulkheads; placing first and second panels at ends of the first and second packs; closely abutting a third and a fourth one of the packs against the first and second panels; placing third and fourth panels at ends of the third and fourth packs; closely abutting a fifth and a sixth one of the packs against the third and fourth panels leaving a final longitudinal gap between the fifth and sixth packs with all six packs loaded on the railcar; configuring a spacing block including fixing parallel plates rigidly displaced one from another and affixing resilient sheet material to either side of the spacing block to fill the final longitudinal gap; positioning the spacing block on the bed in the final longitudinal gap.