Upper Intermodal Container Attachment

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.

I bet 90+% of us are just as ignorant as you.

I’ll add another question: what are the advantages/disadvantages of doublestack cars that support the upper containers on arms reaching up from the car itself, rather than on the lower container?

An Inter Box Connector is what locks one container to another, just like on a ship. Sometimes called a Twist Lock. It sits in a slot on top of the corner casting. When the top container is set on top, the Connector is rotated 90 degrees to lock them together.

Cars with the support bulkheads are heavier and require more maintenance than the well cars that depend on IBCs to secure the upper containers.

To elaborate: heavier cars (the bulkhead stack cars) can’t handle heavier loads. Well cars have a substantial advantage in load limits.

It’s amazing how subtle the application of those IBCs can be. I have watched them load stack trains, and you have to be paying close attention to see anyone put those IBCs on the lower container. Then the upper container was set on them (a precise job, made to look easy by the crane operators!), and again, it didn’t take much to give those IBC handles a twist and secure the top box.

…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.

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

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

Thx IGN

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<

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

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.

Yep, good old gravity keeps them in the car.

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…

…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…

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

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 [:)]

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.

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.

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