Peter Robinson

British Rail and the Container Revolution

Introduction

British railways freight services had a long and successful history but by the 1960s it was becoming seriously unprofitable. Although investment in automated wagon marshalling had improved productivity, and the closing of small inefficient depots made savings, the growth of modern road transport competition was making it a losing battle.

Background

There had been lots of political interference with the railways since nationalisation but there had been some significant investment in modernisation. However, by the early 1960s losses were up to £2 billion in today's money (2020). The government of the day appointed Dr Richard Beeching, Chairman of ICI, with a brief to make recommendations for reshaping British Railways to tackle the problem. There have been many views on the report, some with hindsight, but one of the positive items, on freight services, is sometimes overlooked. The report highlighted that in the freight sector only coal and mineral traffic was profitable. The rest, particularly slow wagon traffic, should be replaced by a new modern container based handling system. A simple concept but in the event the start of an International freight transport revolution. The proposals were developed after some of Dr Beeching's investigation team visited the USA in their information gathering exercises. There they saw the development of 8ftx8ft modular containers in 10ft, 20ft and intermediate lengths. This was mainly on the west coast using road, rail and shipping .The containers were being shipped direct from manufacturers and suppliers via special freight terminals using cranes for high speed storage or transfer to rail wagons or ships .There was no manhandling of containers but there were several competing systems .It was not at this stage an international system.

Early USA Developments

Freight containers had been around for many years all over the world. The US army had made great use of them for supplies to troops by ships in WW2. In the early 1950s Malcolm McLean, owner of a trucking company, had an idea to update his operation after studying the principles used by the army. Working with the engineer Keith Tantlinger, they developed ideas for a modern container system, mainly for shipping. Tantlinger came up with the twist lock mechanism attaching to the top four corners on the container so it could easily be secured and lifted using cranes. He was influenced by the requirement to lower the containers into modular storage on the ships. Even in those early days he saw the potential and the need for standardisation. When it became an issue in the late 1960s he persuaded Mclean to waive the patents they had secured.

The first shipment with this new system took place in April 1956. By the time the Beeching team arrived in the 1960s there was a number of copies but with incompatible container systems, sizes and container lifting fittings. One of the biggest companies was Matson Navigation, working along the Pacific coast using a new design of port and dockside crane built by the company Paceco.

Freightliner

Dr Beeching was appointed Chairman of the British Railways Board in June 1961 after being on an advisory committee looking into railways. His reshaping report was published in March 1963 and soon accepted. Work started immediately, identifying redundant assets and potential line closures. The container project was given some priority and the title Freightliner, and was to be controlled centrally. Special teams were set up to deal with the mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, and operating aspects. Serious work started in 1964.

Phase 1

The original idea of Freightliner was to service the domestic UK freight market. Basic principles had been decided. Containers were to be 8ft X 8ft cross section in lengths of 10ft, 20ft and 30ft. The strength would be in the base for cheaper construction requiring bottom lift handling, not a problem for a land based system. Top lifting would be required when shipping by sea became predominant. There would be guaranteed next day delivery. Private road hauliers would be allowed to collect and deliver containers, the trains would run at 75mph with no guard. These principles would give serious industrial relation problems with the Rail unions which was a shock to Board members from outside industries, including Dr Beeching.

Meantime work continued at a pace. A 70 mile breakeven rule for the first five routes was settled, with the opening service to be between York Way Kings Cross and Gushetfaulds Glasgow via Watford and the west coast main line. Terminals at Longsight Manchester, Garston Liverpool and Aberdeen would follow. Design and orders were placed in house for containers and wagons. To meet timescales, readily available rubber- tyred gantry cranes would run on concrete tracks and span two rail and one roadway. Two diesel hydraulic cranes, seen in the USA, manufactured by the company Drott were purchased for trial purposes and delivered in 1964 to the York Way terminal. A great deal of experience was gained from the trials, on reliability and road and rail operations. Authority was then given to proceed, as was special dispensation for a single tender, for what could be considered mark 2 machines. This was on the condition of a partnership with a UK engineering company for manufacture and support. Rubery Owen was chosen and an order for 13 diesel hydraulic Drott Travelifts was placed and the first delivered in 1965. Freightliner, a free standing organization but still within British rail, was set up to operate the system with its own management and sales staff. With excellent cooperation between the Regions and Headquarters the first service ran between London and Glasgow in November 1965. By this time Dr Beeching had departed. A temporary agreement was made to get the service started, restricting private road hauliers by using only BR staff and vehicles. A 10ft container had been converted into a caboose for a guard. However the guards disliked the caboose, the ride at 75mph was not great for comfort at the end of the train so they travelled in the rear cab of the freight locomotive. Valuable operating experience would influence the proposals for phase 2.

Phase 2

Developments were overtaking events. Planning of the service expansion included Sealink, with routes to Ireland from Holyhead and Heysham; to the Channel Islands from Weymouth and to Europe from Harwich Parkeston Quay to Zeebrugge. Freightliner also saw a role in servicing UK ports for international services. Containers would be stored on the ships above and below decks .Other shipping lines were taking an interest the same way. This would require top lift containers using lifting frames taking no more area than the top of a container. The international element would require a standard. With a British Rail initiative the British Standards Institution (BSI) took up the challenge with the International Standards Organisation (ISO). Containers up to 40ft in length with a maximum weight of 30 tons and an option of 8` 6" high were to be considered. There were at least 3 contenders for lock systems in use in the USA but one, the Tantlinger twistlock looked ideal and the patent holders were willing to waive them .This was a very generous gesture. The 30 ton load would require strengthening of the twistlock and engineers at British Rail agreed to work on that. British Rail had been taking a lead in view of its own priorities for the Sealink services. In a remarkable example of international compromise and cooperation ISO obtained agreement for standard containers and twist locks to the upgraded design. BS 3951 was published in 1968 but shipping companies had already started to work for them. Freightliner and Sealink plans would require more than 60 rail mounted cranes. This significant investment would also require new ships, wagons and containers for completion over the next 5 years.

To improve operating speeds and storage the new cranes would have to be designed to heavy duty specifications. Competitive tenders to British Rail specifications were invited from UK and European manufacturers. A well-established firm, Stothert and Pitt, whose chairman was Robert Riddles, the first railway Chief Mechanical Engineer after nationalisation, supplied the cranes for Harwich Parkeston Quay. Sir William Arrol, builders of the Forth rail bridge, Herbert Morris of Loughborough with the largest order for 30 cranes, Wellman Engineering, Liebherr, A H Allen, Clyde Crane and Booth, and Kone shared the rest of the crane orders. The crane designs could be regarded as revolutionary with their 24 hour operational and technical requirements. With the diversity of suppliers, areas of standardisation were required. Driver cab layouts and controls, electric motors, gearboxes and wire ropes are examples. The recent commercial development of solid state thyristors allowed them to be used for the first time for the smooth control of hoist, cross and long travel on cranes.

The ship to shore cranes at the ports of Parkeston Quay, Holyhead, Dublin, Heysham and Belfast would only require top lifting systems. The majority, at the internal terminals, would require top and bottom lifting. Again for standardisation, British rail undertook to design and build the dual system lifting frames. Railway board engineers carried out the design and Doncaster Locomotive works the manufacture.

The Container Revolution

The impact on traditional ports was devastating for dock labour and shipping lines. Traditional ports were very labour intensive and did not have the space for container storage or expansion. New ports like Felixstow and Rotterdam were being considered. In 1968 Sealink started a daily return service between Harwich and Zeebrugge. They had taken delivery of two British built container ships. The containers slotted into cell spaces taking up all of the ships' cargo space and up to 2 high on hatch covers. They were the first in Europe and could carry up to 200 ISO standard containers and would be the pattern for all future container ships.

Now in 2020 it is estimated there are 5000 container ships worldwide, the largest carrying up to 20,000 TEUs (20ft equivalent units). Some estimates say there are up to 30 million containers. Felixstowe, one of the busiest ports in Europe, handles more than 3000 ships a year carrying more than 4 million TEUs.

Freightliner has changed hands a few times but is still successful and the largest rail haulier of intermodal containerised traffic in the UK using land based terminals and container ports.

P J Robinson C.Eng F.I. Mech.E