Freightliner Container Traffic - photos from the NRM

[jonhall]

Following on from my traditional container photos from the NRM, here are their decendents - I realise these may not be Freightliner Ltd containers, but the idea is that this will capture all the more modern ISO and bottom lift container photos that I find in the NRM's online collection.
Jon
Containers at Parkeston Quay, 1971

Description: Containers being loaded onto the MV Brathey Fisher at Parkeston Quay, Essex, 26 September 1971. This ferry took cargo from Harwich to Belgium and Holland. Containers speeded the transport of goods, as they could be rapidly transferred between road and rail vehicles, and then lowered by giant overhead cranes into the holds or decks of waiting cargo ships.



The photo above is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. In a nutshell, that means it's free for any non-commercial use as long as you credit "© National Railway Museum and SSPL" and add a link back to http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=120

Edited March 6, 2014 by jonhall

[jonhall]

Freightliner container, 1967

Description: Freightliner container on a Seddon Atkinston lorry, transporting food to Welwyn Garden City, 25 May 1967. Freightliner services began in 1965. Goods were transported in containers so they could easily be transferred from rail to road vehicles. This one contains food for Fine Fare supermarkets in Glasgow.





Freightliner container, 1967

Description: Freightliner container on a Seddon Atkinston lorry, at Welwyn Garden City, 25 May 1967. Freightliner services began in 1965. Goods were transported in containers so they could easily be transferred from rail to road vehicles. This one contains food for Fine Fare supermarkets in Glasgow.




The photo above is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. In a nutshell, that means it's free for any non-commercial use as long as you credit "© National Railway Museum and SSPL" and add a link back to http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=285 http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=286

Edited March 6, 2014 by jonhall

[Glorious NSE]

Name on the ship doesn't seem to match the name on the caption for that one Jon - do ships have psuedonyms?

[jonhall]

Freightliner depot at King's Cross, 1967


Description: Container being loaded on a train at the Freightliner depot at King's Cross, London, 10 July 1967. Freightliner services began in 1965. Fast freight trains transported goods in containers. They were quickly transferred between road and rail vehicles by giant, rail-mounted overhead cranes.



http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=287

Freightliner depot, 1967


Description: Container being loaded on a train at the Freightliner depot at King's Cross, London, 10 July 1967. Freightliner services began in 1965. Fast freight trains transported goods in containers. They were quickly transferred between road and rail vehicles by giant, rail-mounted overhead cranes.



http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=288

The photo above is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. In a nutshell, that means it's free for any non-commercial use as long as you credit "© National Railway Museum and SSPL" and add a link back to this page.

Edited March 6, 2014 by jonhall

[jonhall]

Freightliner lorry, 1967

Description: A British Railways Freightliner lorry, 1 May 1967. Freightliner services began in 1965. Goods were transported in containers so they could easily be transferred from rail to road vehicles.



http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=289

Freightliner train, 1967


Description: Freightliner train from York to Glasgow, hauled by the Class 47 diesel electric locomotive No D1837, 1 May 1967. Freightliner services began in 1965. Goods were transported in containers so they could easily be transferred from rail to road vehicles.



http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=290
The photo above is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. In a nutshell, that means it's free for any non-commercial use as long as you credit "© National Railway Museum and SSPL" and add a link back to this page.

Edited March 6, 2014 by jonhall

[jonhall]

Loading containers onto a ship at Harwich, 1969

Description: Loading railway containers onto the Dutch ship Domburgh at night at Parkeston Quay, Harwich, Essex, 18 September 1969. Containers speeded the transport of goods, as they could be rapidly transferred between road and rail vehicles, and then lowered by giant overhead cranes into the holds or decks of waiting cargo ships.



http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=487

Loading containers onto a ship, 1969

Description: Loading freight containers onto the Dutch-owned ship the Domburgh at Parkeston Quay, Harwich, Essex, 18 September 1969. Freight containers, which could be transported by road or rail vehicles and then rapidly transferred to cargo ships revolutionised the transport of goods.


http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=490

Loading containers onto a ship at Harwich, 1969


Description: Loading railway containers onto the Domburgh at Parkeston Quay, Harwich, Essex, 18 September 1969. This Dutch ship is taking goods to Holland. Containers speeded the transport of goods, as they could be rapidly transferred between road and rail vehicles, and then lowered by giant overhead cranes into the holds or decks of waiting cargo ships.


http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=488

Loading containers onto a ship at Harwich, 1971

Description: An overhead crane lowering a container onto the Brathey Fisher at Parkeston Quay, Essex, 26 September 1971. This ferry took cargo from Harwich to Belgium and Holland. Containers speeded the transport of goods, as they could be rapidly transferred between road and rail vehicles, and then lowered by giant overhead cranes into the holds or decks of waiting cargo ships.



http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=489

The photo above is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. In a nutshell, that means it's free for any non-commercial use as long as you credit "© National Railway Museum and SSPL" and add a link back to this page

Edited March 6, 2014 by jonhall

[jonhall]

London to Paris freightliner, 1968

Description: Railway managers at the inaugural run of the London to Paris freightliner train, pulled by a Class 47 diesel locomotive number D1758, 22 April 1968. This freight train connected with a ferry across the English Channel, and on arrival the rolling stock was hauled by a French locomotive to Paris. British Railways Freightliner services began in 1965 and were fast freight trains that carried a wide variety of goods and provided a more efficient door to door service. Goods were transported n containers so they could quickly transferred by overhead cranes from rail to road vehicles.




http://www.nrm.org.u...poolst&item=509

London to Paris freightliner, 1968

Description: Managers and a British Rail driver at the inaugural run of the London to Paris freightliner train, pulled by a Class 47 diesel locomotive number D1758, 22 April 1968. This freight train connected with a ferry across the English Channel, and on arrival the rolling stock was hauled by a French locomotive to Paris. British Railwys Freightliner services began in 1965 and were fast freight trains that carried a wide variety of goods and provided a more efficient door to door service. Goods were transported n containers so they could quickly transferred by overhead cranes from rail to road vehicles.



http://www.nrm.org.u...poolst&item=510

London to Paris freightliner, 1968

Description: Inaugural run of the London to Paris freightliner train, pulled by a Class 47 diesel locomotive number D1758, 22 April 1968. This freight train connected with a ferry across the English Channel, and on arrival the rolling stock was hauled by a French locomotive to Paris. British Railwys Freightliner services began in 1965 and were fast freight trains that carried a wide variety of goods and provided a more efficient door to door service. Goods were transported n containers so they could quickly transferred by overhead cranes from rail to road vehicles.



http://www.nrm.org.u...poolst&item=511

The photo above is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. In a nutshell, that means it's free for any non-commercial use as long as you credit "© National Railway Museum and SSPL" and add a link back to this page.

Edited March 6, 2014 by jonhall

[Fat Controller]

Interesting to see so many of the boxes were already ISO-compliant, with Twistlocks and top-lift, as early as 1967. I hadn't realised that skeletal trailers had been intoduced so early on, either. The single-axle one, with four wheels, is a find as well.

The tractor-unit wasn't a Seddon-Atkinson, but a Seddon, as the two companies weren't to merge until 1970.

[jonhall]

Name on the ship doesn't seem to match the name on the caption for that one Jon - do ships have psuedonyms?

 

I didn't notice that still I don't pay all that much attention to the captions, as they are very poor - one of the reasons for putting htese collections together waas so that they are easier to find photos of a particular subject - other 'themes' I'm considering are 'Specially constructed wagons and their loads', 'cars on rail', 'pallets and forklifts' and 'BRUTE trollies'.

Jon

[jonhall]

London to Paris Freightliner being loaded onto train ferry

<h2>FREIGHT LINER TRAINS</h2><a href="http://www.britishpathe.com/video/freight-liner-trains/query/freight+train"><img src="http://images.britishpathe.com/?id=89619&num=10&size=thumb" title="FREIGHT LINER TRAINS" width="352" height="264" /></a>

 

footage of freightliner containers being loaded/unloaded

<h2>FREIGHT LINER DEPOT</h2><a href="http://www.britishpathe.com/video/freight-liner-depot/query/freight+train"><img src="http://images.britishpathe.com/?id=91012&num=10&size=thumb" title="FREIGHT LINER DEPOT" width="352" height="264" /></a>

[Peter Kazmierczak]

London to Paris freightliner, 1968

 

Description: Railway managers at the inaugural run of the London to Paris freightliner train, pulled by a Class 47 diesel locomotive number D1758, 22 April 1968. This freight train connected with a ferry across the English Channel, and on arrival the rolling stock was hauled by a French locomotive to Paris. British Railways Freightliner services began in 1965 and were fast freight trains that carried a wide variety of goods and provided a more efficient door to door service. Goods were transported n containers so they could quickly transferred by overhead cranes from rail to road vehicles.

 

 

 

 

London to Paris freightliner, 1968

 

Description: Managers and a British Rail driver at the inaugural run of the London to Paris freightliner train, pulled by a Class 47 diesel locomotive number D1758, 22 April 1968. This freight train connected with a ferry across the English Channel, and on arrival the rolling stock was hauled by a French locomotive to Paris. British Railwys Freightliner services began in 1965 and were fast freight trains that carried a wide variety of goods and provided a more efficient door to door service. Goods were transported n containers so they could quickly transferred by overhead cranes from rail to road vehicles.

 

 

 

London to Paris freightliner, 1968

 

Description: Inaugural run of the London to Paris freightliner train, pulled by a Class 47 diesel locomotive number D1758, 22 April 1968. This freight train connected with a ferry across the English Channel, and on arrival the rolling stock was hauled by a French locomotive to Paris. British Railwys Freightliner services began in 1965 and were fast freight trains that carried a wide variety of goods and provided a more efficient door to door service. Goods were transported n containers so they could quickly transferred by overhead cranes from rail to road vehicles.

 

 

 

The photo above is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. In a nutshell, that means it's free for any non-commercial use as long as you credit "© National Railway Museum and SSPL" and add a link back to this page.

Sir Henry Johnson (BRB Chairman) in the dark check suite.

 

Not impressed at all by some of the NRMs caption accuracy. Surely the York - Glasgow Freightliner is one from London (York Way Terminal) to Glasgow.

 

Nice find though Jon.

 

Thanks.

Edited December 28, 2012 by Western Sunset

[Southernman46]

Freightliner lorry, 1967

 

Description: A British Railways Freightliner lorry, 1 May 1967. Freightliner services began in 1965. Goods were transported in containers so they could easily be transferred from rail to road vehicles.

 

 

http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=289

 

Freightliner train, 1967

 

 

Description: Freightliner train from York to Glasgow, hauled by the Class 47 diesel electric locomotive No D1837, 1 May 1967. Freightliner services began in 1965. Goods were transported in containers so they could easily be transferred from rail to road vehicles.

 

 

http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=liverpoolst&item=290

The photo above is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. In a nutshell, that means it's free for any non-commercial use as long as you credit "© National Railway Museum and SSPL" and add a link back to this page.

 

Note the "Guards compartment" container on the 1st wagon - bet that was fun to ride in........ 

[Mark Saunders]

From the original pupose built batch of six Caboose Containers three still survive, one at each of the following, York NRM, North Yorkshire Mooors Railway at Newbridge Yard and one at the Wilton Freightliner Terminal.

 

There were still outer wagons with footsteps on in the 1990's even though the cabooses had been withdrawn at least 25 years previous.

 

Mark Saunders

[LNERGE]

I got a rather nice book on King's Lynn docks for Christmas. I was rather surprised to see a picture of containers being unloaded from a ship onto freightliner flats. Not something i would normally associate with King's Lynn.

[Fat Controller]

I got a rather nice book on King's Lynn docks for Christmas. I was rather surprised to see a picture of containers being unloaded from a ship onto freightliner flats. Not something i would normally associate with King's Lynn.

I think this might have had something to do with an industrial dispute at one of the bigger ports. Containers to/from the UK would have been taken to one of the major North European ports, most likely Rotterdam, on smaller vessels, then transhipped for the ocean-going part of the journey.

[hmrspaul]

Note the "Guards compartment" container on the 1st wagon - bet that was fun to ride in........ 

It would be interesting to know if they were "fun". Unlike a conventional brake van they were on a bogie vehicle - so maybe they rode better. And at 10ft x 8ft x 8ft which is the same length as the van of a BR standard van, and marginally wider than the standard van. OK going out for some fresh air wasn't possible, unlike a standard van, but were they so bad?

 

Paul Bartlett

[eastwestdivide]

So where is that train with the caboose/guard's container? The caption says York to Glasgow, and the headcode is an 'S', but is that 4th rail electrification on some of the tracks?

[Fat Controller]

So where is that train with the caboose/guard's container? The caption says York to Glasgow, and the headcode is an 'S', but is that 4th rail electrification on some of the tracks?

As others have suggested, it's most likely to have been from 'York Way', which was near King's Cross station. Given the 4th rail electrification on at least two, possibly three, of the tracks pictured, might it be somewhere around the Willesden Junction area. That tower in the background looks familiar; I'm sure it's visible from the ECML near Finsbury Park/Ally Pally.

[Michael Delamar]

seems strange in the shots of Henry Johnson that the gleaming class 47 isnt a blue one at that time if its for publicity.

[Jim Martin]

It would be interesting to know if they were "fun". Unlike a conventional brake van they were on a bogie vehicle - so maybe they rode better. And at 10ft x 8ft x 8ft which is the same length as the van of a BR standard van, and marginally wider than the standard van. OK going out for some fresh air wasn't possible, unlike a standard van, but were they so bad?

 

Paul Bartlett

I believe that the caboose containers were introduced because the NUR wouldn't countenance their members riding in the rear cab of the locomotives on container trains, which was BR's original plan. That was why early liner trains operated with passenger brakes, or even air-braked goods brakes, at the rear. The caboose was supposed to address this by removing the need for an additional vehicle. The fact that they rapidly fell out of use and the guards started riding in the rear cab probably says everything that needs to be said about the caboose environment. In Collins' Freightliner: Life and Times, it's recorded that the Chairman of Freightliner described the caboose as "an unmitigated disaster" when the company handed one over to the NRM in 1985.

 

I think this might have had something to do with an industrial dispute at one of the bigger ports. Containers to/from the UK would have been taken to one of the major North European ports, most likely Rotterdam, on smaller vessels, then transhipped for the ocean-going part of the journey.

I don't know what date the photo is from, but the first (1968) edition of Jane's Freight Containers has entries for all kinds of British ports, including King's Lynn. It looks like just about everywhere was hoping for a piece of the action, container-wise. At that time, KL was advertising one container service: the Washbay Line's twice-weekly route to Hamburg ("special connection to Stockholm") using two vessels, the Alster and Lynn, both ro-ro vessels with a capacity of 70 20' containers. The Washbay Line's own entry describes their route, rather splendidly, as "Hamburg/King's Lynn and vice versa, twice weekly each Tuesday and Friday  with sufficient inducement calling also at Cuxhaven, Emden, Boston (Lincs), Grt Yarmouth, Lowestoft".

 

As others have suggested, it's most likely to have been from 'York Way', which was near King's Cross station. Given the 4th rail electrification on at least two, possibly three, of the tracks pictured, might it be somewhere around the Willesden Junction area. That tower in the background looks familiar; I'm sure it's visible from the ECML near Finsbury Park/Ally Pally.

A very, very similar photo appears on page 10 of Collins' book, where it's captioned: "One of the first Freightliner trains leaves Maiden Lane depot for the long haul up to Glasgow..." (then a bit about the loco and the caboose container). It gives the date as 1965. I don't think it's the exact same shot: it looks to have been taken a moment after the one above, judging from the relative position of the loco and the ground signal, but everything else about it looks the same, including the state of completion of the building behind the locomotive. The one in the book has been reproduced with quite a lot more contrast than the shot above, which makes comparison a bit harder, but I'm certain that they're from the same time.

 

Jim

[Fat Controller]

Thanks for posting that, Jim. Looking at Google Earth, it would appear that Maiden Lane terminal would have been just north of St Pancras, in which case the electrified lines would have been the North London Lines. The train would have joined the WCML near the Roundhouse in Cambden. Looking at the map, it would appear that there were Eastern and London Midland Freightliner terminals within spitting distance of one another.

http://goo.gl/maps/XfGam

Maiden Lane would have been just the other side of the NLL to York Way.

[RANGERS]

As others have suggested, it's most likely to have been from 'York Way', which was near King's Cross station. Given the 4th rail electrification on at least two, possibly three, of the tracks pictured, might it be somewhere around the Willesden Junction area. That tower in the background looks familiar; I'm

 

Thanks for posting that, Jim. Looking at Google Earth, it would appear that Maiden Lane terminal would have been just north of St Pancras, in which case the electrified lines would have been the North London Lines. The train would have joined the WCML near the Roundhouse in Cambden. Looking at the map, it would appear that there were Eastern and London Midland Freightliner terminals within spitting distance of one another.

http://goo.gl/maps/XfGam

Maiden Lane would have been just the other side of the NLL to York Way.

 

 The pitched roof tower in the background looks like the one modelled on Copenhagen Fields, in the Cattle Market area IIRC. Further to the left is a structure which I'm guessing is Ally Pally TV transmitter in the distance. I'd need to check the NLL book, but I'm fairly sure the line had 25kv overhead along the stretch from Willesden to Maiden Lane, it was de-energised in the early 70s, presumably all Kings X Freightliner traffic moved to the ECML after that date.

The same book might confirm the dates the fourth rails were removed from these stretches of the NLL, I seem to remember they were redundant from the 50s but remained in situ along some stretches for many years.

[Southernman46]

Surely the tower / chimney and the large communication mast (Ally Pally ?) on the skyline should be enough for thsoe with knowledge to pin this one down ? - It's definately not York.

[LNERGE]

It does have me baffled at the moment but this photo is out there..

 

http://www.rcts.org.uk/features/mysteryphotos/show.htm?img=Y-97-03&serial=1

[RANGERS]

I'll dig the NLL book out but my best guess is the train is exiting Maiden Lane, West on to the NLL where it'll cross on to the line third from right which would be the Westbound goods line on the NLL.