Evening star., 1961-02-08
BY TRUMAN r. TEMPLE
Star star Writer

SS9A SSo4S "AASSA
Containerization, q cumber-
some word for q whole concept
in rail-truck-ship transport, is
shaking up the freight industry.
A kind Of sophisticated off
shoot Of piggyback shipping,
it promises to cut costs Of
hauling drastically.
Reynolds Metals Co. is re-
leasing q report, "An Economic
Study Of Characterization and
It's Markets." that draws some
startling conclusions.
If certain handicaps are
overcome, 1t says, containeriza-
ton may displace piggyback
freight. because it eliminates
multi-State licenses, solves
problems Of overhead railway
clearance. and permits faster
train speeds.
What is containerization?
Shippers use the word
specifically to describe large
cargo-carrying containers,
usually rectangular, that can
be shifted from trains to trucks
and ships without rehandling
their contents.
First Tried In 1S47
. The idea is an old one. The
Fall River (Mass0 Railroad Co.
used uniform containers back
in 1847 to speed baggage
handling. The boxes made it
possible to shift the cargo from
trains to ferryboats without
handling each piece Of luggage
individually.
The Pennsylvania and New
York Central railroads both in
troduced container service in
the l920s. Their experiments
consisted Of six steel containers
loaded on a flatcar, transferred
by cranes at key points to
trucks.
A low-rate structure set by
the Interstate Commerce Com
mission In 1881, however, dis
couraged these attempts, and
not much was done until after
World War II when the Army
revived interest by transporting
personal goods Of Servicemen
in containers aboard ships.
Idea Growing Rapidly
The last decade has seen q
rapid growth Of practical con-
tainer methods, side by side
with the rise in piggyback
shipping.
Here in Washington, the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Co. has been operating q
container service for several
months. A crane at the Eek
ington Yard. New York and
Florida avenues NE, loads
metal cargo boxes from trucks
to fast freight cars. The service
Is linked to q score Of Eastern
cities, where cranes are located.
Piggyback means carrying an
entire truck trailer. including
wheels, aboard q railroad flat
car or o ship. Containeriza-
ton eliminates the wheels and
trailer underframe, moving
only the big box. The contain
er is lifted by overhead rigs at
its destination from the rail
car to the truck.
| Today a number Of experts
think It's just extra expense
to haul the underframe and
wheels Of a trailer on q flatcar
Several COntainer Systems
So Q rash Of containel
systems are on the market
Stricktainer. Flexi-Van, Clejan
container car, Clark Mobilvan
and Seamobile are examples.
Furthermore, q number oi
industry and Government
organizations are busy studying
the idea, including the Mari.
time Administration, National
Defense Transportation Associ-
alton, and the Association oi
American Railroads.
Container service probably
always viii be limited to lines
between big traffic centers
since the cranes to shift the
boxes are expensive and CAM
be justified without heavy use
Standard Sizes b Key -
And the movement never
will get off the ground in any
volume unless the containel
users agree on standard sizes
Right now it's still a crazy.
quilt, q drawback also afflictins
piggyback freight.
But q step in the right
direction was provided recently
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