Mobile Storage Solutions Blog

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatcar#Intermodal_freight_use

COFC (container on flat car) cars are typically 89 feet (27.13 m) long and carry four 20-foot (6.10 m) intermodal containers or two 40-foot (12.19 m)/45-foot (13.72 m) shipping containers (the two 45-foot / 13.72 m containers are carryable due to the fact that the car is actually 92 ft (28.04 m) long, using the strike plates). With the rise of intermodal freight transport-specific cars, and given the age of most of these flats, numbers will decline over the next several years. Indeed, when the first well cars appeared, allowing double stacking, many container flats were re-built as autoracks. The few “new build” container flats are identifiable by their lack of decking, welded steel frame, and standard 89-foot length. One variant is the 50 feet (15.24 m) car (which usually carries one large container as a load); these are actually re-built old boxcars. Common reporting marks are FEC, CP, SOO and KTTX. The ATTX cars, which feature no spark grips and sides, are built for hauling dangerous goods (ammunition, flammable fluids, etc.).
Kansas City Southern Railway #8985, a flatcar seen in this May 29, 2004, photo, is fitted with fifth wheel coupling hitches for hauling trailers.

A TOFC (trailer on flat car, a.k.a. piggy-back) car once again, is usually an 89 ft car. In the past, these carried three 30 ft (9.14 m) trailers which are, as of 2007, almost obsolete, or one large, 53 ft (16.15 m), two 40-foot (12.19 m) or 45-foot (13.72 m) trailers. As intermodal traffic grows, these dedicated flats are in decline. Most have been modified to also carry containers. One notable type is Canadian Pacific Railway’s XTRX service — dedicated five-unit flats that only carry trailers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate_bulk_container

There are many advantages of the IBC concept:

* They are generally cubic in form and therefore can transport more material in the same area than cylindrically shaped containers and far more than might be shipped in the same space if packaged in consumer quantities.
* They rely on plastic liners that can be filled and discharged with a variety of systems.
* The manufacturer/processor of a product can bulk package a product in one country and ship to many other countries at a reasonably low cost where it is subsequently packaged in final consumer form in accordance with the regulations of that country and in a form and language suitable for that country.

IBCs range in size but are generally between 700 and 2,000 mm (27.6 and 78.7 in) or 46 to 52 in (1,168 to 1,321 mm) in height. The length and width of an IBC is usually dependent on the pallet dimension standard of a given country.

IBCs may have pallet-like bases so that forklifts can move them.

It is common for IBCs to be able to fold down into a compact profile, reducing their height for transportation and storage when empty. IBCs in almost all cases can be stacked vertically.

Depending on the size of the IBC, it can weigh between 90 and 1,200 kg (198 and 2,646 lb).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermodal_freight_shipping_container

An intermodal container or freight container (commonly shipping container) is a reusable transport and storage unit for moving products and raw materials between locations or countries; the terms container or box may be used on their own within the context of shipping. Containers manufactured to ISO specifications may be referred to as ISO containers and the term high-cube container is used for units that are taller than normal. There are approximately seventeen million intermodal containers in the world and a large proportion of the world’s long distance freight generated by international trade is transported inside shipping containers (as opposed to break bulk cargo).

The containerization system developed from a design of an 8-foot (2.438 m) cube units used by the United States’ military and later standardised by extension to 10-foot (3.05 m), 20-foot (6.10 m), and 40-foot (12.19 m) lengths. Longer, higher and wider variants are now in general use in various places.

Container variants are available for many different cargo types. Non-container methods of transport include bulk cargo, break bulk cargo and tankers/oil tankers used for liquids. For air freight the alternative and lighter IATA defined Unit Load Device is used.

A typical container has doors fitted at one end, and is constructed of corrugated weathering steel. Containers were originally 8 feet (2.44 m) wide by 8 feet (2.44 m) high, and either a nominal 20 feet (6.10 m) or 40 feet (12.19 m) long. They could be stacked up to seven units high.

Taller units have been introduced, including ‘hi-cube’ or ‘high-cube’ units at 9 feet 6 inches (2.90 m) and 10 feet 6 inches (3.20 m) high.

The United States often uses longer units at 48 ft (14.63 m) and 53 ft (16.15 m). Some rare European containers are often about 2 inches wider at 2.5 m (8 ft 2.4 in) to accommodate Euro-pallets. Australian RACE containers are also slightly wider to accommodate Australia Standard Pallets.

Lighter swap body units use the same mounting fixings as Intermodal containers, but have folding legs under their frame so that they can be moved between trucks without using a crane.

Each container is allocated a standardized ISO 6346 reporting mark (ownership code), four characters long ending in either U, J or Z, followed by six numbers and a check digit.

Container capacity is often expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU, or sometimes teu). An equivalent unit is a measure of containerized cargo capacity equal to one standard 20 ft (length) × 8 ft (width) container. As this is an approximate measure, the height of the box is not considered; for example, the 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) high cube and the 4-foot-3-inch (1.30 m) half height 20-foot (6.10 m) containers are also called one TEU. Similarly, the 45 ft (13.72 m) containers are also commonly designated as two TEU, although they are 45 and not 40 feet (12.19 m) long. Two TEU are equivalent to one forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU).

Variations on the standard container exist for use with different cargoes including Refrigerated container units for perishable goods, tanks in a frame for bulk liquids, open top units for top loading and collapsable versions. Containerised coal carriers, and ‘bin-liners’ (containers designed for the efficient road/rail transportation of rubbish from cities to recycling and dump sites) are used in Europe.

Container types:
* Collapsible ISO
* Flushfolding flat-rack containers for heavy and bulky semi-finished goods, out of gauge cargo
* Gas bottle
* Generator
* General purpose dry van for boxes, cartons, cases, sacks, bales, pallets, drums in standard, high or half height
* High cube palletwide containers for europallet compatibility
* Insulated shipping container
* Refrigerated containers for perishable goods
* Open top bulktainers for bulk minerals, heavy machinery
* Open side for loading oversize pallet
* Platform or bolster for barrels and drums, crates, cable drums, out of gauge cargo, machinery, and processed timber
* Rolling floor for difficult to handle cargo
* Swapbody
* Tank containers for bulk liquids and dangerous goods
* Ventilated containers for organic products requiring ventilation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-foot_equivalent_unit

The twenty-foot equivalent unit (often TEU or teu) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals. It is based on the volume of a 20-foot long intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box which can be easily transferred between different modes of transportation, such as ships, trains and trucks.

One TEU represents the cargo capacity of a standard intermodal container, 20 feet (6.1 m) long and 8 feet (2.4 m) wide. There is a lack of standardisation in regards to height, ranging between 4.25 and 9.5 feet (1.30 and 2.9 m), with the most common height being 8.5 feet (2.6 m). Also, it is common to designate 45-foot (14 m) containers as 2 TEU, rather than 2.25 TEU.

Equivalence

As noted above, the TEU is an inexact unit, and hence cannot be converted precisely into other units. The related unit forty-foot equivalent unit (often FEU or feu) however is defined as two TEU. The most common dimensions for a 20-foot (6.1 m) container are 20 feet (6.1 m) long, 8 feet (2.4 m) wide, and 8.5 feet (2.6 m) high, for a volume of 1,360 cubic feet (39 m3). However, both 9.5 feet (2.9 m) tall High cube and 4.25 feet (1.30 m) half height containers are also reckoned as 1 TEU. This gives a volume range of 680 cubic feet (19 m3) to 1,520 cubic feet (43 m3) for one TEU.

While the TEU is not itself a measure of mass, some conclusions can be drawn about the maximum mass that a TEU can represent. The maximum gross mass for a 20-foot (6.1 m) dry cargo container is 24,000 kilograms (53,000 lb). Subtracting the tare mass of the container itself, the maximum amount of cargo per TEU is reduced to approximately 21,600 kilograms (48,000 lb).

Similarly, the maximum gross mass for a 40-foot (12 m) dry cargo container (including the 9.5 feet (2.9 m) high cube container) is 30,480 kilograms (67,200 lb). After correcting for tare weight, this gives a cargo capacity of 26,500 kilograms (58,000 lb).

Twenty-foot, “heavy tested” containers are available for heavy goods such as heavy machinery. These containers allow a maximum weight of 67,200 pounds (30,500 kg), an empty weight of 5,290 pounds (2,400 kg), and a net load of 61,910 pounds (28,080 kg).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Containerization

There are five common standard lengths, 20-ft (6.1 m), 40-ft (12.2 m), 45-ft (13.7 m), 48-ft (14.6 m), and 53-ft (16.2 m). United States domestic standard containers are generally 48 ft (15 m) and 53-ft (rail and truck). Container capacity is often expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU, or sometimes teu). An equivalent unit is a measure of containerized cargo capacity equal to one standard 20 ft (length) × 8 ft (width) container. As this is an approximate measure, the height of the box is not considered, for instance the 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) High cube and the 4-ft 3-in (1.3 m) half height 20 ft (6.1 m) containers are also called one TEU.

The maximum gross mass for a 20 ft (6.1 m) dry cargo container is 24,000 kg, and for a 40-ft (including the 2.87 m (9 ft 6 in) high cube container), it is 30,480 kg. Allowing for the tare mass of the container, the maximum payload mass is therefore reduced to approximately 22,000 kg for 20 ft (6.1 m), and 27,000 kg for 40 ft (12 m) containers.

The original choice of 8 foot height for ISO containers was made in part to suit a large proportion of railway tunnels, though some had to be deepened. With the arrival of even taller containers, further enlargement is proving necessary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadrailer

In railroad terminology a Roadrailer or RoadRailer is a highway trailer, or semi-trailer, that is specially-equipped for use in railroad intermodal service.

The advantage of using roadrailers is that due to their construction, the trailers can be pulled directly behind other freight (or even passenger) equipment without the use of trailer flatcars.

Roadrailers first appeared on American railroads in the 1950s. The trailers were built with integrated railroad wheelsets that could be lowered into position when the trailer was pulled behind a train. More modern roadrailers do not include integrated railroad wheels, but ride on specially-manufactured bogies that do double-duty, serving as articulation points between multiple trailers in a train. Each truck is equipped with two fifth wheels and at one end (or both ends) of a convoy there is an adaptor truck equipped with one fifth wheel and one regular AAR Type “E” or Type “F” automatic coupler. Each semi-trailer has one king pin at each end. Because the bogie is significantly lighter than a rail flatcar or well-car, roadrailer freight trains are much lighter and therefore are more energy efficient than traditional intermodal trains.

RoadRailers were built by the Bi-Modal Corporations in the early 1980’s located in West Chester Pennsylvania. The trailiers were built by the Budd Corporation locally with the integration of the wheelsets and railroad braking system done at the nearby Bi-Modal factory. This was a modern up-date of C&O’s Railvan used in the 1950’s. The railroad wheelsets attached to the aft portion of the trailer were lowed pneumatically by activating a simple valve controller on the left rear of the trailer. To transfer from highway mode to rail mode the trailer driver would position the trailer over tracks inlayed into a paved rail yard. First the operator would activate the valve to remove the air from the airbags that supported the trailer in the highway mode. In the fully lowered or squat position, hooks which held the railwheel set up above the road surface released. Then the operator would move the valve to inflate the two large airbags used for rail mode. These rail air bags were similar to those used in passenger rail cars at this time. After being fully transferred, the trailer would be fully level and ready for connection to the next trailer in the train.

Throughout the early 1980’s various railroads experimented with the RoadRailer concept to determine if the equipment would be durable enough to endure railroad use. The positive attributes of the RoadRailer were its exceptionally smooth ride, light weight and low capital costs to set-up a rail yard. Since no flatcars were involved, no crane systems were needed to transfer the trailers between modes. In fact during one demonstration test a train of RoadRailers was broken down in the middle of an industrial street in Portland Oregon which happened to have track in the street demonstrating the flexibility of the system. Another note was that a RoadRailer train did not have a caboose car which at the time was still required for freight trains. A simple box was designed with a yellow strobe light designed to be installed in the unused coupler of the last car. Later, as cabooses were phased out, railroads today use a similar strobe to mark the end of the train.

In 1982, Conrail operated a route between (Railports) Buffalo, Rochester and Highbridge New York in the Bronx called the Empire State Xpress operated by Bi-Modal subsidiary Road-Rail Transportation Company. The concept was to offer customers rapid freight service that would be competitive with traditional over the road service. Dedicated trains left Buffalo and Highbridge each evening arriving early the next morning. The line was eventually shut down after never establishing enough key customers to utilize the service.

The primary reason that the original RoadRailer concept did not catch on was the weight penalty imposed on the trailers because of the attached railroad wheelset. This was resolved in later designs which removed the integrated wheelset by having a dedicated rail bogie assembly that stayed in the rail yard as seen today.