Upper Intermodal Container Attachment

[Modelcar]

.....What a web site of disasters...!!  Awesome photos.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

narig01

Modelcar:

....I didn't think containers had any floating ability....Can't imagine how the double doors would be watertight.  Now if the weight was towards the container's "back end", perhaps the "box" could float if the "front" doors were up out of the water.

 

Most containers have a rubber seal around the doors to keep out moisture. This is also true of most box trailers. It is important to keep many types of cargo dry. A 40' container loaded to 50,000 lbs will float. I'm not sure of the math. In the case of the motorcycles 20 motorcycles @ 350 lbs each  is only 7000 lbs in a 40' container. Light. 

   In the case of the rubber ducks I think the container was damaged going overboard which let the water in. Then the cardboard boxes disintegrated in the water. Followed by the container corroding away. NOAA bought the salvage rights so they could study the movement.(our tax dollars at work, I think it was a good buy under $1000)

Thx IGN

  Let me help out with the math a little bit.  An 8 ft. wide x 8 ft. high x 20 ft. long container has a volume of 1,280 cubic ft.  Water with a density of 62.4 lbs. per cubic foot (though seawater is a little heavier - what with the salt, etc. dissolved in it, you know), so when fully submerged that container would displace 1,280 cu. ft. x 62. 4 = 79,872 lbs. (practically, 40 tons).  Since the container's steel itself usually weighs about 6,000 lbs., if the cargo is 73, 872 lbs. (36.9 tons) or less the container will float as long as it remains watertight.  Since as explained above the container is likely not loaded beyond about 25 tons, while buoyant and floating it would be at least 1/3 out of the water, and higher if it is lighter or empty.

Even after the seals leak and water gets it, the container may still float if the cargo is Ping-Pong balls, a lot of Styrofoam has been used to cushion the cargo, and/ or thew cargo is something that is sealed and pretty much water-tight itself - washing machines and refrigerators come to mind.  On the other hand, a container of railroad car or track parts will soon be on the bottom . . .

In that same website, did anyone else see the photos of the new British Rail Class 70 (68 ?) locomotive that was dropped by the deck crane of the MV Beluga Endurance in January 2011 ?  The frame was bent so badly into a semi-bananna shape that it was scrapped !  See: http://www.cargolaw.com/2011nightmare_GE.Class70.html 

And here are links to a cople of articles about the rubber ducks that were tracked floating around the Pacific Ocean after leaving their container:

"Of Shoes And Ships And Rubber Ducks And A Message In A Bottle" - http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/elements/shoes.htm 

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0731/p01s04-woeu.html?related 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/06/0619_seacargo.html 

- Paul North.       

[narig01]

beaulieu

One of my favorite websites

Cargolaw

 

Columbia River Roundup  Scroll down to near the bottom to see floating cans.

By the by one of the more interesting facts of admiralty law is a cargo getting washed overboard on the high seas is considered an act of god ie the shipping company is not liable for the loss. What happens in port I do not know!!

FOFLOL

Thx IGN

[narig01]

Modelcar

....I didn't think containers had any floating ability....Can't imagine how the double doors would be watertight.  Now if the weight was towards the container's "back end", perhaps the "box" could float if the "front" doors were up out of the water.

Most containers have a rubber seal around the doors to keep out moisture. This is also true of most box trailers. It is important to keep many types of cargo dry. A 40' container loaded to 50,000 lbs will float. I'm not sure of the math. In the case of the motorcycles 20 motorcycles @ 350 lbs each  is only 7000 lbs in a 40' container. Light. 

   In the case of the rubber ducks I think the container was damaged going overboard which let the water in. Then the cardboard boxes disintegrated in the water. Followed by the container corroding away. NOAA bought the salvage rights so they could study the movement.(our tax dollars at work, I think it was a good buy under $1000)

Thx IGN

[BaltACD]

It was mentioned in page 1 of the thread.

eastside

You may be interested to know that Keith Tantlinger, the guy who designed the container lock and fittings, died recently:

Obituary

[eastside]

You may be interested to know that Keith Tantlinger, the guy who designed the container lock and fittings, died recently:

Obituary

[BaltACD]

[beaulieu]

One of my favorite websites

Cargolaw

 

Columbia River Roundup  Scroll down to near the bottom to see floating cans.

[Modelcar]

....I didn't think containers had any floating ability....Can't imagine how the double doors would be watertight.  Now if the weight was towards the container's "back end", perhaps the "box" could float if the "front" doors were up out of the water.

[narig01]

As to the idea of pinwheeling containers ie turning them 90 degrees, 20 ft containers are 8 ft wide and I suspect that would consume a lot of valuble space. In addition I do not think the cranes used to lift containers are designed to turn the units90 degrees.(at least from what I've seen). 

     From what I have heard loosing containers off ships during a storm is not uncommon. I  think it is a practice that hazardous cargos are usually put below decks. Also by way of comment I remember reading about at least 2 news worthy items in the last few years oflost cargos 1 A container with 20 BMW motorcycles that went overboard in the North Sea and ended up on the beach in England. It took the police there several months to recover the bikes as people took them home and then triedto register them.  

   Another well known case of cargo going overboard  was a 40' container of rubber duckies made in China. The cargo was unique in that it had been made for a novelty company, and all the ducks had markings on them. NOAA has been using the information gathered from the landfall ofthis cargo to measure ocean currents.

Rgds IGN

[BaltACD]

What we are able to see is what is loaded above deck...don't forget that most of those loaded on the ship are loaded below deck ... I would presume on the loading plan for a ship, the heaviest containers are the ones the get loaded below deck and the lighest are the ones that get loaded above deck.

While many containers may not be loaded to their full cube capacity, I would expect that all of them are loaded to their full weight capacity.  If you look at the load limits that are stenciled on the rear doors fo all containers you will find that 20 ft, 40 ft and 53 ft containers all have virtually the same load limit - which would be the maximum that can be handled in their over the road trips.

Modelcar

....And I have wondered why containers are not stacked with units setting on each at 90 degrees of angle, {on a ship's deck}, kind of tying them together like a brick wall corner.

They appear to be stacked up to 4 or more in height.  With rough water in crossing the sea....I have looked at pictures with cargo ships stacked high with containers and wondering what keeps them on deck.  Even if they are "connected together".  Heights like that would be a mighty force tilting sideways as the ship rolls.

But thinking about that, it would complicate the location of the connecters.

[Doublestack]

Stacking at 90 degrees would add some strength to the stack, but keeping in mind, the structural stacking frames are the 4 corners, when you turn the next row by 90 degrees, 2 corners of the box are resting in the center of the box below it which would require the addition of structure members at the 20' position as well, which adds tare weight and cost to the box. 

[Modelcar]

....And I have wondered why containers are not stacked with units setting on each at 90 degrees of angle, {on a ship's deck}, kind of tying them together like a brick wall corner.

They appear to be stacked up to 4 or more in height.  With rough water in crossing the sea....I have looked at pictures with cargo ships stacked high with containers and wondering what keeps them on deck.  Even if they are "connected together".  Heights like that would be a mighty force tilting sideways as the ship rolls.

But thinking about that, it would complicate the location of the connecters.

[tomikawaTT]

The containers below main deck level on containerships are restrained in position by very close clearance rails on the bulkheads.  That makes container locks unnecessary at those locations.  Above the main deck the space above the bulkhead is wide enough to use as a passageway to install and lock/unlock container locks.

Or there may not be true container locks used aboard ship.  I have heard many stories about containers being lost overboard in a seaway from containerships.  Would that have happened if they were really locked down?

Chuck

[Modelcar]

Question of worker installing "IBC's" down in a ship's hold....after the first container is located.  I note a description indicates a worker has to "install" 4 "IBC's" before the 2nd container is placed on it.

Noting these connecters weight in the order of 13 lbs....how does the worker keep a supply of these to continue to install these fixtures on each container as it comes down into a ships hold...or anyplace where "stacking" is being accomplished....?  Seems the worker would have too much weight to manhandle along with him to continue the job....

I must be missing where these "IBC's" are being supplied from as they are being put to each container.

And how does the worker manage to get up to the tops of each container to do this job....?

Or maybe I'm way off base in understanding the operation.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Got a close-up video of that ?  (seriously) 

And the crane and/ or Piggy-packer spreaders, etc. in operation ?  I'm not aware of any available on the 'Net, nor of detailed close-ups of either NS/ Triple Crown's RoadRailer or CP's Exxpressway (sic)/ formerly "Iron Highway" TOFC trains being loaded and hitched together, or being taken apart - but I'd surely like to see that ! 

- Paul North. 

[spbed]

In simplest words it is called a "container" lock. It works quite easily. The bottom container is placed in the well or hole of a ship then 4 container locks are placed on the 4 corners of the container & the lock is set at 0 degrees. Then the 2nd container is lifted on top & a lever on the container lock is moved from 0 degrees to 45 degrees & that is what locks into place the bottom to the top container

[samfp1943]

Slightly off the subject, but check out this linked Thread here (linked):

http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/196316.aspx

The Topic: Fan Blades (with 5 photos written and taken by edblysard)

The photo essay by edblysard at the start of the Thread,shows how the Wind Turbine Blades are attached to the flat cars by their retaining apparatus ( which is able to move across the width of the cars so the blades may flex and still ride within the width of the flat cars.

Down in the Body of the Topic is a contribution of a  another photo essay by WSOR 3801 which shows the mechanism of the traveling platform on the car body, with the hold downs being the same connector pins used to fasten the upper container to the lower container on double stack cars. [The photos provided show those mechanisms with much detail as to how they appear.]

By way of Coincidence: There is a concurrent Thread running here about the man who invented the stacking contasiner system and the locking mechanism being discussed Mr. Keith Tantlinger who recently deceased;

His obit linked on the Thread: http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/196443.aspx

"Keith Tantlinger Invented the Double Stacked Container" 

posted by Wanswheel (Mike)

FTL: Mr. Tantlinger's obit:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/signonsandiego/obituary.aspx?n=keith-w-tantlinger-tant&pid=153419406

[Modelcar]

...Thanks for the various answers, and photos regarding the connecting devices on the containers....I must study the material a bit more, and will do so to fully understand the design.

They surely must be consttructed of high strength steel.  They seem rather small in size.  The rotating shaft, etc....

[rvos1979]

narig01

From what I've seen of there use on road trucks normally the handles have zip ties around them to keep them from turning.

Thx IGN

 

As long as the truck driver remembers to check them to make sure they are locked, I believe there was a wreck on I-294 a while back, container hauler rolled the trailer, and container and chassis separated from each other.  I didn't hang around to find out how long it took to put them back together.....

[Doublestack]

Yep, good old gravity keeps them in the car.

[CShaveRR]

No--the bottom container is just plunked (but precisely!) into the well. They are always centered in the wells, but I don't know of any restraining devices to prevent lengthwise shifting (correct me if I'm wrong about this). Varying widths are handled with fillers, actual parts of the car, that can be moved into place.

[timz]

Is the bottom container hooked to the car the same way?

[Doublestack]

Great data above, just to clarify slightly - the bottom box goes into the well, then a person has to put the IBC into the top aperature of the bottom box.   He usually follows the crane, a box or two behind.   After the crane has loaded the bottom deck in each well car, and the utility worker has put the IBC's into all of those containers, the crane comes back again for a 2nd pass, putting the top level of containers on.   They place to top box into the IBC.   There is a mid-segmet of the IBC, where the handle is located, that creates about a 1 - 2" gap between the boxes (this allows the handle to be moved.)   Once the crane sets the 2nd container on top, the utility worker again follows and this time, he locks the boxes together by manually rotating the handle 90 degrees.

I believe that BNSF requires that all IBC's be right handed meaning that the handle rotates right to lock them.   That way you can drive by and see if all handles on a given side of the train are oriented to the right, and are therefore locked.  

The IBC's would be between the areas painted blue at the top and bottom of the stack frames on these 2 containers.  SInce there are 53' the stack frams are at 40' apart and the IBC's go there, not on the corners.    http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/snlu954477.jpg

On ISO boxes, the IBC's go into the corners.

If you look at this pic  of a Schneider box on top of a ISO box, the IBC's are at the very outside corners of the ISO boxes, but are inserted to teh bottom of the stack frames on the 53' orange box, given that its 13' longer.

http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part3/images/snlu993115.jpg

This shows the general shape of them, however this one has a pull-release vs a handle that you'd rotate.   I believe that this one is used on ships.

http://img.nauticexpo.de/images_ne/photo-g/twistlock-zum-festzurren-von-containern-semi-automatische-198289.jpg

This would be the kind used on a railcar, shown from a different angle.  Note the cone on top is sort of oval shaped, so when it is rotated 90 degrees in the oblong slot in the container, it locks in cross-ways.

http://www.biztrademarket.com/User/165864/bb/intermediate_twistlock_slh.jpg

 

[narig01]

 

samfp1943

narig01

travelingengineer

  pg 52 of the following

http://www.portecrail.com/pdf/Catalogs/SSD%20Product%20Catalog.pdf

[ Copied to activate the link.   Sam.]

 

The pdf is Portecrails entire catalog.

Be aware that the drawing is shown with the connector facing sideways. the conical points of the connectors are up & down. 

        From what I've seen of there use on road trucks normally the handles have zip ties around them to keep them from turning.

Thx IGN

Thx I am not real good with these links & things .

Thx IGN

[samfp1943]

narig01

travelingengineer

Am revealing my ignorance on probably a simple matter, but can anyone here please tell me how the upper container on an intermodal car is attached to the lower container?  From my view as these cars rapidly pass my car window, I can see no attachment devices, but (of course) there must be something.

  pg 52 of the following

http://www.portecrail.com/pdf/Catalogs/SSD%20Product%20Catalog.pdf

[ Copied to activate the link.   Sam.]

 

The pdf is Portecrails entire catalog.

Be aware that the drawing is shown with the connector facing sideways. the conical points of the connectors are up & down. 

        From what I've seen of there use on road trucks normally the handles have zip ties around them to keep them from turning.

Thx IGN

[narig01]

travelingengineer

Am revealing my ignorance on probably a simple matter, but can anyone here please tell me how the upper container on an intermodal car is attached to the lower container?  From my view as these cars rapidly pass my car window, I can see no attachment devices, but (of course) there must be something.

  pg 52 of the following http://www.portecrail.com/pdf/Catalogs/SSD%20Product%20Catalog.pdf

The pdf is Portecrails entire catalog.

Be aware that the drawing is shown with the connector facing sideways. the conical points of the connectors are up & down. 

        From what I've seen of there use on road trucks normally the handles have zip ties around them to keep them from turning.

Thx IGN

[beaulieu]

Modelcar

.....Understand there are connectors at each container corner that locks somehow as one is placed upon another, but....what disconnects them as the top one is lifted off upon unloading.......?

 

An employee has to unlock them before the crane can lift off the top one. Otherwise the crane will lift both containers, possible if they are empty, but hard on the crane if they are loaded. The IBCs work just like the twist locks that the crane uses to grasp the container.

[Modelcar]

.....Understand there are connectors at each container corner that locks somehow as one is placed upon another, but....what disconnects them as the top one is lifted off upon unloading.......?