Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="JSGreen"] Personally, I'd like to know how FM plans on taking containers directly from a ship and in one swell foop deposit them onto the well decks...moer effeciently than is done now.  Going from an 800 ft long ship stacked 8 abreast and 10 deep, onto a 7500 ft long train just setting alongside the pier.... either single or double stack.  One reason they can get those things off so fast is the crane has a predictable and consistant destination...right underneith itself.  Are you planning on spotting the flats under the crane, and slowly pull forward as they are filled?  How ya gonna tell the guy driving the train when you are ready for him to go ahead?  And co-ordinate the four (or more) cranes working together...How much real estate do you suppose it would take to build a circular track around the pier like they do at the grain elevators?  And where, pray tell, will that real estate come from?  [/quote]If a crane can take a container off an 800 ft ship and load it onto a chassis or a set of shuttle wagons as is done now, it's just as easy to load onto a dockside railcar.  You can fit at least two sets of tracks between the struts of the crane, and have several more outside the struts.  Keep in mind also that not all containers would be directly loaded ship to rail, some are staying local, some will be marshalled for double stack (I never said double stacks should be eliminated).  Communication between crane operator and train driver is elementary, I don't know why you'd think that'd be a problem.  It would be harder to facilitate on dock rail lines for those that jut out into the harbor, but rather easy for those that are parallel to the seaside.  And where is all this land to come from?  From the reduced need to marshall all offloaded containers - think of all the space that would become available if container storage was reduced.Keep in mind also that the reason direct ship-to-railcar hasn't yet worked in the US is that, due to the predication to double stack well cars, you'd need to facilitate the oft-talked about twin lift where two 40's are already stacked together on the ship ready to be set into the well car.  To do so would require some major league logistics - that's why it is incredibly difficult for double stacks but immensely easy for single stacks.[quote] Also, I recall reading that some containers must be held awaiting customs clearance once unloaded.  THis would be especially a problem if it is not consistent, the held containers intermixed with the cleared containers.  [/quote]Held containers would just have to wait for the next train.[quote] THe shipping companies pay big bucks for every hour they are alongside the pier.  To be competative, if there was a faster way to do things, it has probably been or is being tried.   [/quote]Again, if the rail companies didn't virtually blackmail the shipping companies into using double stack exclusively via the closed access system, you'd see these changes occur almost immediately.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag