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An intermodal train carrying both shipping containers and highway semi-trailers in "piggyback" service, on flatcars, passes through the Cajon Pass in February, 1995.

Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in a container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation (rail, ocean vessel, and truck), without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The advantage of utilizing this method is that it reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and loss, and allows freight to be transported faster. Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ... One of the challenges of intermodal transport is changing between modes. ... Image File history File links Vonsvans01022. ... Image File history File links Vonsvans01022. ... Containers on the Port of Singapore. ... semi-trailer truck with sleeper behind the cab. ... Something that is piggy-backed is something that is riding on the back of something else. ... FEC 37066 passing Glen Haven, Wisconsin, on the Mississippi River, is carrying two containers. ... Cajon Pass (elevation 4190 ft. ... This article is about transported goods. ... Containers on the Port of Singapore. ... The Trikke is a Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) Automobiles are among the most commonly used engine powered vehicles. ... railroads redirects here. ... Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ... For other uses, see Ship (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Truck (disambiguation). ...

Prehistory

Intermodal transportation goes back to the 18th century and predates the railways. Some of the earliest containers were those used for coal shipping on the Bridgewater Canal in England in the 1780s. Coal containers were soon deployed on the early railways and used for road/rail transfers (road at the time being horse drawn). The Bridgewater Canal is a navigable canal in the north west of England, connecting Runcorn and Manchester. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ...

Examples of wooden coal containers being used on railways go back to the 1830's on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. In 1841 Isambard Kingdom Brunel introduced iron containers to move coal from the vale of Neath to Swansea Docks. By the outbreak of the First World War the Great Eastern Railway was using wooden containers to trans-ship passenger luggage between trains and sailings via the port of Harwich. 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) (IPA: ), was a British engineer. ... Image:Neatharms. ... Swansea Docks is an Atlantic shipping port in Swansea, south Wales. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was formed in 1862 as an amalgamation of the Eastern Counties Railway; and also with several other smaller railways: Norfolk, the Eastern Union, the Newmarket, the Harwich, the East Anglian Light and the East Suffolk; among others. ... Arms of Harwich Town Council Harwich (IPA, /hɑːˈɹɪtʃ/) is a town in Essex, England, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. ...

The early 1900s saw the first adoption of covered containers, primarily for the movement of furniture and intermodal between road and rail. A lack of standards limited the value of this service and this in turn drove standardisation. In the USA such containers, known as "lift vans', were in use from early as 1911. Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

History

In the United Kingdom containers were first standardised by the RCH Railway Clearing House in the 1920s, allowing both railway owned and privately owned vehicles to be carried on standard container flats. By modern standards these containers were small being five or ten foot long, normally wooden and with a curved roof and insufficient internal strength to stack. From 1928 the London, Midland and Scottish Railway offered 'door to door' intermodal road-rail services using these containers. This standard however failed to take off outside the United Kingdom. The British Railway Clearing House (RCH) was set up in 1842 in offices in Seymour Street, London. ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS1) was a British railway company. ...

Pallets made their first major appearance during World War II, when the United States military assembled freight on pallets, allowing fast transfer between warehouses, trucks, trains, ships, and aircraft. Because no freight handling was required, fewer personnel were required and loading times were decreased. A wooden pallet A plastic pallet with nine legs, which can be lifted from all four sides A Pallet can also be a small, hard, or temporary bed (a term heavily used in the southern United States to describe a makeshift bed consisting of a blanket and a pillow on... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Old warehouses in Amsterdam Inside Green Logistics Co. ... For other uses, see Ship (disambiguation). ... Flying machine redirects here. ...

Truck trailers were first carried by railway before World War II, an arrangement often called "piggyback", by the small Class I railroad, the Chicago Great Western in 1936. The Canadian Pacific Railway was a pioneer in piggyback transport, becoming the first major North American railway to introduce the service in 1952. In the United Kingdom the big four railway companies offered services using standard RCH containers which could be craned on and off the back of trucks. Moving companies such as Pickfords offered private services in the same way. Utility trailer A Trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. ... A Class I railroad in the United States, or a Class I railway (also Class I rail carrier) in Canada, is one of the largest freight railroads, as classified based on operating revenue. ... The Chicago Great Western Railway (AAR reporting mark CGW) was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. ... An eastbound CPR freight at Stoney Creek Bridge in Rogers Pass. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pickfords is a moving company based in England, part of the international firm Sirva. ...

It was not until the 1950s that containers started to revolutionize freight transportation. The US Department of Defence produced specifications for standard containers for military use of 8 foot by 8 foot square cross section in units of ten foot long. The ISO International Organization for Standardization (ISO) issued standards based upon the US Department of Defence standards between 1968 and 1970, ensuring interchangeability between different modes of transportation worldwide. These rectangular stackable containers became known as ISO containers for this reason. Containers in the port of Kotka (Finland) on the Baltic Sea. ... A defence minister (Commonwealth English) or defense minister (American English) is a cabinet portfolio (position) which regulates the armed forces in a sovereign nation. ... “ISO” redirects here. ... Containers on the Port of Singapore. ...

One pioneering railway was the White Pass and Yukon Route, who acquired the world's first container ship, the Clifford J. Rogers, built in 1955, and introduced containers to its railway in 1956. In the United Kingdom the modernisation plan and in turn the Beeching Report strongly pushed containerisation. The British Railways freightliner service was launched carrying 8' high pre-ISO containers. The older wooden containers and the pre-ISO containers were rapidly obsoleted by ten foot and twenty foot ISO standard containers, and as time went on by forty foot containers and larger. The White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&Y, WP&YR) (AAR reporting marks WPY) is a narrow gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway, Alaska with Whitehorse, the capital of Canadas Yukon Territory. ... Container ship in Istanbul Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size containers, in a technique called containerization. ... Clifford J Rogers may refer to: Clifford Joy Rogers (1897–1962), Governor of Wyoming , the worlds first container ship, operated by the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad Clifford J. Rogers, author writing on military history This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same... Many railway lines were closed as a result of the Beeching Axe The Beeching Axe was an informal name for the British governments attempt in the 1960s to control the spiralling cost of running the British railway system by closing what it considered to be little-used and unprofitable... British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system, from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ...

In the United States of America, starting in the 1960s the use of containers increased steadily. An example of such a major intermodal project was the $740,000,000 Port of Oakland intermodal rail facility begun in the late 1980s.^[1][2] The Port of Oakland was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. ...

In the United States of America, rail intermodal traffic tripled between 1980 and 2002 according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), from 3.1 million trailers and containers to 9.3 million. A World War II era print advertisement for the Association of American Railroads (AAR). ...

Double-stacked container transport

Intermodal ship-to-rail transfer of containerized cargos at the Port in Long Beach, California.

Since 1984, a mechanism for intermodal shipping known as double-stack rail transport has become increasingly common. Rising to the rate of nearly 70% of United States intermodal shipments, it transports more than one million containers per year. The double-stack rail car's unique design also significantly reduced damage in transit, and provided greater cargo security by cradling the lower containers so their doors cannot be opened. And a succession of large, new domestic container sizes was introduced to further enhance shipping productivity for customers. As early as the 1970s, doublestack designs and equipment were introduced, but the cars were heavy and uneconomical to operate. In Europe the more restricted loading gauge has limited the adoption of double-stack cars. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 443 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,953 × 1,081 pixels, file size: 507 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Intermodal Ship-to-Rail transfer of containerized cargos. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 443 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,953 × 1,081 pixels, file size: 507 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Intermodal Ship-to-Rail transfer of containerized cargos. ... Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: , Country State County Los Angeles County Government  - Mayor Bob Foster Area  - City  65. ... A loading gauge is the envelope or contoured shape within which all railway vehicles, engines, coaches, and trucks must fit. ...

Equipment

Sizes

Containers, also known as intermodal containers or as ISO containers because the dimensions have been defined by the ISO, are the main type of equipment used in intermodal transport, particularly when one of the modes of transportation is by ship. Containers are eight feet (2438 mm) wide by eight feet (2438 mm) high. Since introduction, there have been moves to adopt other heights, such as eight feet six inches (2591 mm), nine feet six inches (2896 mm) and ten feet six inches (3200 mm). The most common lengths are 20 feet (6096 mm) nominal or 19 feet - 10½ in (6058 mm) actual, 40 feet (12192 mm), 48 feet (14630 mm) and 53 feet (16154 mm), although other lengths exist. They are made out of steel and can be stacked on top of each other (a popular term for a two-high stack is "double stack"). On ships they are typically stacked up to seven units high. They can be carried by truck, rail, container ship, or aeroplane. When carried by rail, containers can be loaded on flatcars or in container well cars. In Europe, stricter railway height restrictions (smaller loading gauge and structure gauge) and overhead electrification prohibit containers from being stacked two high, and containers are hauled one high either on standard flatcars or other railroad cars. Taller containers are often carried in well cars single stacked on older european railway routes where the loading gauge is particularly small. For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ... FEC 37066 passing Glen Haven, Wisconsin, on the Mississippi River, is carrying two containers. ... A railroad gondola seen at Rochelle, Illinois. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... A loading gauge is the envelope or contoured shape within which all railway vehicles, engines, coaches, and trucks must fit. ... The Structure gauge, also called the minimum clearance outline, is the minimum size of tunnels and bridges as well as the minimum size of the doors that allow a rail siding access into a warehouse. ... Electrification refers to changing a thing or system to operate using electricity. ... A railroad car (or, more briefly, car, not to be confused with railcar), also known as an item of rolling stock, is a vehicle on a railroad (or railway) that is not a locomotive — one that provides another purpose than purely haulage, although some types of car are powered. ...

Variations

A portion of a "double stack" container train operated by Union Pacific Railroad, the containers are owned by Pacer Stacktrain.

Some variations on the standard container exist. Open-topped versions covered by a fabric curtain are used to transport larger loads. A container called a tanktainer, consisting of a tank fitted inside a standard container frame, allows liquids to be carried. Refrigerated containers are used for perishables. There is also the swap body, which is typically used for road and rail transport, as they are built too lightly to be stacked. They have folding legs under their frame so that they can be moved between trucks without using a crane. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 280 KB)DTTX 724681, a portion of a Pacer Stacktrain (Concord, CA) 5-unit container car (a specialized type of gondola) seen passing through Rochelle Railroad Park, Rochelle, Illinois, on May 29, 2005. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 280 KB)DTTX 724681, a portion of a Pacer Stacktrain (Concord, CA) 5-unit container car (a specialized type of gondola) seen passing through Rochelle Railroad Park, Rochelle, Illinois, on May 29, 2005. ... Union Pacific redirects here. ... Pacer Stacktrain is a provider of wholesale intermodal transportation services in North America. ... A modern tank car, owned by the Union Tank Car Company, passes westbound through Rochelle Railroad Park, Rochelle, Illinois on May 29, 2005. ... A Swap body is a standard freight container which is usually built too lightly to be stacked, or to be lifted from the top, unlike the more widespread shipping containers. ...

Various non-standard container forms are commonly used. These include non-stackable open box containers, and several slightly non standard geometries. European containers are often sbout two inches wider than the ISO standard although otherwise conformant, which can carry the euro-pallet standard pallet load. Specialised containers used in Europe include containerised coal carriers, and recently 'bin-liners' - containers designed for the efficient road/rail transportation of rubbish from cities to recycling and dump sites.

Truck trailers are often used, in countries where the loading gauge is sufficient, for freight that is transported primarily by road and rail. Typically, regular semi-trailers can be used, and do not need to be specially designed. When travelling by rail, semi-trailers are transported on railway flatcars, an arrangement called "piggyback." For other uses, see Truck (disambiguation). ... semi-trailer truck with sleeper behind the cab. ... FEC 37066 passing Glen Haven, Wisconsin, on the Mississippi River, is carrying two containers. ...

In North America, containers are often shipped by rail in container well cars. These cars resemble flatcars but the newer ones have a container-sized depression, or well, in the middle (between the bogies or "trucks") of the car. This depression allows for sufficient clearance to allow two containers to be loaded in the car in a "double stack" arrangement. The newer container cars also are specifically built as a small articulated "unit", most commonly in components of three or five, whereby two components are connected by a single bogie as opposed to two bogies, one on each car (The photo above under "Equipment" shows an example of the new setup.) Double stacking is also used in parts of Australia. On some older railways, particularly in the United Kingdom, theuse of well cars is neccessary to carry single stacked large containers within the loading gauge. A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. ...

A newer method of transporting trailers, the roadrailer, has been developed by RoadRailer Corporation, which is owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway. When the trailers are transported on rail, railway wheel assemblies are placed between the trailers, in effect turning the trailers into one large articulated railway car. This method is faster than carrying trailers on flatcars and requires no extra railway cars, but the trailers need to be specially designed (strengthened). In railroad terminology a Roadrailer or RoadRailer is a highway trailer, or semi-trailer, that is specially-equipped for use in railroad intermodal service. ... Norfolk Southern Headquarters Norfolk, Virginia. ...

Container ships

The 300-meter-long container ship CMA CGM Balzac

Container ships are used to transport containers by sea. These vessels are custom-built to hold containers. Some vessels can hold thousands of containers. Their capacity is often measured in TEU or FEU. These initials stand for "twenty foot equivalent unit," and "forty foot equivalent unit," respectively. For example, a vessel that can hold 1,000 40-foot containers or 2,000 20-foot containers can be said to have a capacity of 2,000 TEU. In the year 2005, the largest container ships in regular operation are registered to carry in excess of 8,000 TEUs. Download high resolution version (2048x915, 100 KB)Containership CMA CGM Balzac in the port of Zeebrugge Belgium. ... Download high resolution version (2048x915, 100 KB)Containership CMA CGM Balzac in the port of Zeebrugge Belgium. ... Container ship in Istanbul Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size containers, in a technique called containerization. ...

A key consideration in the size of container ships is that larger ships exceed the capacity of important sea routes such as the Panama and Suez canals. The largest size of container ship able to traverse the Panama canal is referred to as Panamax, which is presently around 5,000 TEUs. A third set of locks is planned as part of the Panama Canal expansion project to accommodate container ships up to 12,000 TEUs in future, comparable to the present Suezmax. The two ships seen here seem almost to be touching the walls of the Miraflores Locks. ... Components of the project The Third Set of Locks Project is a megaproject that will expand the Panama Canal more so than any previous expansion since the Canals construction. ... Suezmax is a naval architecture term for the largest ships capable of fitting through the Suez Canal fully loaded, and is almost exclusively used in reference to tankers. ...

Very large container ships also require specialized deepwater terminals. Available container fleet, route constraints, and terminal capacity plays a large role in shaping global container shipment logistics. ^{[3] [4]}

See also

Look up Intermodal freight transport in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Containerization
• Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) Shipping
• Shipping
• Transshipment
• Roadrailer
• Container well cars
• Freight cars
• Tanktainers
• Dry port
• Inland port

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Containers on the Port of Singapore. ... Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) shipping is the transportation of relatively small freight. ... Damaged package The Panama canal. ... Transshipment is the shipment of goods to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination. ... In railroad terminology a Roadrailer or RoadRailer is a highway trailer, or semi-trailer, that is specially-equipped for use in railroad intermodal service. ... A railroad gondola seen at Rochelle, Illinois. ... A railroad car (or, more briefly, car, not to be confused with railcar), also known as an item of rolling stock, is a vehicle on a railroad (or railway) that is not a locomotive — one that provides another purpose than purely haulage, although some types of car are powered. ... A modern tank car, owned by the Union Tank Car Company, passes westbound through Rochelle Railroad Park, Rochelle, Illinois on May 29, 2005. ... Dry Port is a yard used to place containers or conventional bulk cargo, usually connected to a seaport by rail or road. ... Inland ports are shipping, receiving and distribution centers designed to relieve the congestion in increasingly busy seaports. ...

Line note references

General reference

• DeBoer, David J. (1992). Piggyback and Containers: A History of Rail Intermodal on America's Steel Highway. Golden West Books, San Marino, CA. ISBN 0-87095-108-4.

External links

• White Pass and Yukon Route - pictures of 8'x8'x7' containers from 1955