Scratch building a 40' container trailer

[37114]

First off an apology to those who may have read some of the below on my layout thread but thought this might be of interest to a wider audience, especially with the Bachmann container flats on the way:

 

My first “real” job was working for a container haulier back in the mid 90’s at the time we operated about 30 tractor units and 80 container trailers of different types. My current layout is set around the corner from where I worked albeit set in the late 1970’s so it was only natural that I wanted to model one of our lorries and found this picture of one of our units

 

Many years before I had built a model of one of the Seddon Atkinson tractor units from a Langley kit and although there were some minor differences I was happy to overlook them (for now at least). The trailer however is a slightly different matter and basically required building from scratch…

It is worth giving a quick intro into the different types of container trailers at this point (or “skelly’s” as we called them), as there are a number of types:

 

Combi trailers: For reference the Combi trailers are a trailer that are common now but seemed to appear from nowhere around 2008, the advantage being 2 x 20’ lightweight containers can be carried on the same trailer and then unloaded at the same time at the same or nearby place. Historically the 2 containers would have had to go to a local yard and be lifted onto separate trailers.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/36618304@N05/9441562897/in/photolist-o8R4h4-ooiSiQ-oq4rVn-o8R7cm-oq4rH8-os6w5F-oq4qKX-o8FGCN-opUbCr-o7m1vs-nqa2bt-daqC1v-bkYQSr-aazsge-Q3b2r-nVKbcs-nCY5f7-g57urh-fGsHmz-fojtHc-fojnkx-eoRnKz-ekX35Z-ekWp6L-dyr6av-canvCL-bygBAm-bBosfZ-bcM1rP-bcLSvk-aazrMB-a4hcYk-9Yx5gq-9fAL51-9fAKS1-7Wdn6D-7WdmED-7W5Fy4-7mXUzH-7m7mkn-6uiRJA-6sB2is-6sAZBG-64Hidh-63U68i-63U67D-63YjLQ-63YjJE-63U62R-tUVTj

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/36618304@N05/9441541457/in/photolist-o8R4h4-ooiSiQ-oq4rVn-o8R7cm-oq4rH8-os6w5F-oq4qKX-o8FGCN-opUbCr-o7m1vs-nqa2bt-daqC1v-bkYQSr-aazsge-Q3b2r-nVKbcs-nCY5f7-g57urh-fGsHmz-fojtHc-fojnkx-eoRnKz-ekX35Z-ekWp6L-dyr6av-canvCL-bygBAm-bBosfZ-bcM1rP-bcLSvk-aazrMB-a4hcYk-9Yx5gq-9fAL51-9fAKS1-7Wdn6D-7WdmED-7W5Fy4-7mXUzH-7m7mkn-6uiRJA-6sB2is-6sAZBG-64Hidh-63U68i-63U67D-63YjLQ-63YjJE-63U62R-tUVTj

 

Sliding trailers; Because of weight distribution a fully laden 20’ container cannot be put at the back of a 40’ trailer. You will therefore see 20’ containers in the middle of 40’ trailers to spread the weight but with a fixed length trailer, you needed to take the container off the trailer at a local yard and put it on a 20’ trailer for final delivery. The sliding trailer avoids this as the rear part of the chassis slides forward to allow access to the rear. This type of trailer came into being around the mid to late 80’s and are still widely used and now the most commonplace type of trailer

https://www.flickr.com/photos/134227013@N08/25745620624/in/pool-1732997@N21/

 

Fixed length Skeletal trailers, 20’, 30’ and 40’: When containers transport started, most hauliers used flat bed general trailers with twistlocks fitted but this restricted the weight that could be carried. The skeletal trailer was a simple chassis design without the bed and thus saved weight and also height, the 20’ trailers were in reality 26’ long for weight distribution. The 40’ trailers often (but not always) had 12 sets of twistlocks, so they can carry either 2 x 20" boxes, 1 x 40" or a single 20" box in the middle. This type of trailer became more prevalent from the late 60’s and the 20/40 version were common place until the mid 2000’s but are now virtually extinct. 30’ trailers were a minority in the wider picture but are still used for the bulk 30’ container tanks and most are tipping versions.

 

 

If you are modelling a modern day scene then Oxford Diecast do a combi trailer while Corgi did a 40’ triaxle “sliding” trailer. My problem came as there were way too new for my layout while the older style trailers from Corgi, EFE, Oxford etc are flat beds and many are too short. By the late 70's most of the trailers on our fleet were skeletal trialers (i.e. just a chassis without a floor) and were either 20" or 40" versions of which there is no rtr version so scratch building was required.

 

I was initially tempted to make a 20" trailer but based on the photos I found from the time I decided to go for a 40" trailer but with a 20" box so I can model some of the chassis detail. The 20" box is fitted on the middle set of twistlocks, the trailer being fitted with 12 in total

I purchased an RTI 40" trailer chassis in the hope the bed and chassis would be separate but this proved not to be the case so in the end used the wheels, axles and suspension block with the rest of the trailer being scratch built from H beam and box sections. First off the chassis rails were secured to the suspension:

 

 

Then the cross members were added for the 12 twistlocks as well as the landing legs to support the trailer when not connected to a Tractor unit. I bought a container from C-Rail to allow me to size the crossmember locations.The RTI legs are not great so I cut the wheels of the bottom and made my own legs.

 

 

I decided to add a fair bit of detail as it is likely I will keep this trailer and unit for prosperity when the layout gets sold at some point in the future. The rear section came from an old knightwing kit and is broadly accurate. I added a winding handle for the legs as well as the handles for the twistlocks from brass wire:

 

 

Final job was some mud guards prior to primer and painting, the wheels are only loosely in place as they will be fitted after painting.

 

 

Fully painted, I tested it on the layout. The trucks were kept very clean but the boxes were often quickly the opposite and as they got older had reasonable panel damage, being bashed while stacked at ports etc. The container is weathered to represent a used but not heavily damage box as I was nervous about my ability to create the damage effective. James Makin has done an excellent job on a Genstar box on his workbench thread which is worth a look.

 

[Fat Controller]

 

First off an apology to those who may have read some of the below on my layout thread but thought this might be of interest to a wider audience, especially with the Bachmann container flats on the way:

 

My first “real” job was working for a container haulier back in the mid 90’s at the time we operated about 30 tractor units and 80 container trailers of different types. My current layout is set around the corner from where I worked albeit set in the late 1970’s so it was only natural that I wanted to model one of our lorries and found this picture of one of our units

A03906p.JPG

 

Many years before I had built a model of one of the Seddon Atkinson tractor units from a Langley kit and although there were some minor differences I was happy to overlook them (for now at least). The trailer however is a slightly different matter and basically required building from scratch…

It is worth giving a quick intro into the different types of container trailers at this point (or “skelly’s” as we called them), as there are a number of types:

 

Combi trailers: For reference the Combi trailers are a trailer that are common now but seemed to appear from nowhere around 2008, the advantage being 2 x 20’ lightweight containers can be carried on the same trailer and then unloaded at the same time at the same or nearby place. Historically the 2 containers would have had to go to a local yard and be lifted onto separate trailers.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/36618304@N05/9441562897/in/photolist-o8R4h4-ooiSiQ-oq4rVn-o8R7cm-oq4rH8-os6w5F-oq4qKX-o8FGCN-opUbCr-o7m1vs-nqa2bt-daqC1v-bkYQSr-aazsge-Q3b2r-nVKbcs-nCY5f7-g57urh-fGsHmz-fojtHc-fojnkx-eoRnKz-ekX35Z-ekWp6L-dyr6av-canvCL-bygBAm-bBosfZ-bcM1rP-bcLSvk-aazrMB-a4hcYk-9Yx5gq-9fAL51-9fAKS1-7Wdn6D-7WdmED-7W5Fy4-7mXUzH-7m7mkn-6uiRJA-6sB2is-6sAZBG-64Hidh-63U68i-63U67D-63YjLQ-63YjJE-63U62R-tUVTj

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/36618304@N05/9441541457/in/photolist-o8R4h4-ooiSiQ-oq4rVn-o8R7cm-oq4rH8-os6w5F-oq4qKX-o8FGCN-opUbCr-o7m1vs-nqa2bt-daqC1v-bkYQSr-aazsge-Q3b2r-nVKbcs-nCY5f7-g57urh-fGsHmz-fojtHc-fojnkx-eoRnKz-ekX35Z-ekWp6L-dyr6av-canvCL-bygBAm-bBosfZ-bcM1rP-bcLSvk-aazrMB-a4hcYk-9Yx5gq-9fAL51-9fAKS1-7Wdn6D-7WdmED-7W5Fy4-7mXUzH-7m7mkn-6uiRJA-6sB2is-6sAZBG-64Hidh-63U68i-63U67D-63YjLQ-63YjJE-63U62R-tUVTj

 

Sliding trailers; Because of weight distribution a fully laden 20’ container cannot be put at the back of a 40’ trailer. You will therefore see 20’ containers in the middle of 40’ trailers to spread the weight but with a fixed length trailer, you needed to take the container off the trailer at a local yard and put it on a 20’ trailer for final delivery. The sliding trailer avoids this as the rear part of the chassis slides forward to allow access to the rear. This type of trailer came into being around the mid to late 80’s and are still widely used and now the most commonplace type of trailer

https://www.flickr.com/photos/134227013@N08/25745620624/in/pool-1732997@N21/

 

Fixed length Skeletal trailers, 20’, 30’ and 40’: When containers transport started, most hauliers used flat bed general trailers with twistlocks fitted but this restricted the weight that could be carried. The skeletal trailer was a simple chassis design without the bed and thus saved weight and also height, the 20’ trailers were in reality 26’ long for weight distribution. The 40’ trailers often (but not always) had 12 sets of twistlocks, so they can carry either 2 x 20" boxes, 1 x 40" or a single 20" box in the middle. This type of trailer became more prevalent from the late 60’s and the 20/40 version were common place until the mid 2000’s but are now virtually extinct. 30’ trailers were a minority in the wider picture but are still used for the bulk 30’ container tanks and most are tipping versions.

 

 

If you are modelling a modern day scene then Oxford Diecast do a combi trailer while Corgi did a 40’ triaxle “sliding” trailer. My problem came as there were way too new for my layout while the older style trailers from Corgi, EFE, Oxford etc are flat beds and many are too short. By the late 70's most of the trailers on our fleet were skeletal trialers (i.e. just a chassis without a floor) and were either 20" or 40" versions of which there is no rtr version so scratch building was required.

 

I was initially tempted to make a 20" trailer but based on the photos I found from the time I decided to go for a 40" trailer but with a 20" box so I can model some of the chassis detail. The 20" box is fitted on the middle set of twistlocks, the trailer being fitted with 12 in total

I purchased an RTI 40" trailer chassis in the hope the bed and chassis would be separate but this proved not to be the case so in the end used the wheels, axles and suspension block with the rest of the trailer being scratch built from H beam and box sections. First off the chassis rails were secured to the suspension:

 

DSCN2933.JPG

 

Then the cross members were added for the 12 twistlocks as well as the landing legs to support the trailer when not connected to a Tractor unit. I bought a container from C-Rail to allow me to size the crossmember locations.The RTI legs are not great so I cut the wheels of the bottom and made my own legs.

 

DSCN2934.JPG

 

I decided to add a fair bit of detail as it is likely I will keep this trailer and unit for prosperity when the layout gets sold at some point in the future. The rear section came from an old knightwing kit and is broadly accurate. I added a winding handle for the legs as well as the handles for the twistlocks from brass wire:

 

DSCN2935.JPG

 

Final job was some mud guards prior to primer and painting, the wheels are only loosely in place as they will be fitted after painting.

 

DSCN2936.JPG

 

Fully painted, I tested it on the layout. The trucks were kept very clean but the boxes were often quickly the opposite and as they got older had reasonable panel damage, being bashed while stacked at ports etc. The container is weathered to represent a used but not heavily damage box as I was nervous about my ability to create the damage effective. James Makin has done an excellent job on a Genstar box on his workbench thread which is worth a look.

DSCN2966.JPG

 

DSCN3013.JPG

 

Nice work. I've often wondered how a box is emptied, when it's set that far back from the rear of the trailer. I remember handling boxes on conventional trailers, where they'd either be reversed against a loading dock, or a movable ramp used, to allow fork-lift access, but that wouldn't be possible with this design.

[Steadfast]

Hi Rob

Hope you're good, it's been a while!

Nice work on modelling the skeletal trailer, it's good to see people putting as much work into the scenic road vehicles as the trains, rather than just plonking down a few slightly out of era Oxford or Base Toys models. Having a personal link to the prototype is nice too

 

Jo

[jcb 3c]

That's a nice fleet on the bridge , like the Bedford MK gritter .

[37114]

Nice work. I've often wondered how a box is emptied, when it's set that far back from the rear of the trailer. I remember handling boxes on conventional trailers, where they'd either be reversed against a loading dock, or a movable ramp used, to allow fork-lift access, but that wouldn't be possible with this design.

At the time 20'traffic was a lot more prevalent, in the mid 90s I reckon the split was 50/50 so you could get away with loading a 20' trailer, sending it to Felixstowe and getting a 20' box back. Now the split is 80/20 in favour of 40's. We did have a couple of 40' trailers with a flat bed area between the middle and rear pins so you could unload a 20' from the middle but they were rarely used as by then a number of customers were refusing to use them on health and safety grounds

[37114]

Hi Rob

Hope you're good, it's been a while!

Nice work on modelling the skeletal trailer, it's good to see people putting as much work into the scenic road vehicles as the trains, rather than just plonking down a few slightly out of era Oxford or Base Toys models. Having a personal link to the prototype is nice too

 

Jo

Thanks Jo, Yes been a while, I think the last show I did was Calne in January. The trailer was a nice project, I may do a few more Skellys in time, I did think the track plan I have for Parsons Vale would make a great Freightliner terminal as well.

[37114]

That's a nice fleet on the bridge , like the Bedford MK gritter .

Thanks, the MK gritter is based on the Airfix army truck kit. Although not visible it is on it's delivery run so has trade plates on it, one of those things you never see modelled!

Edited August 5, 2018 by 37114

[jcb 3c]

You've nailed the gritter there.

I visited Econ Gritters a few years ago and they had what every reception area should have- an immaculate restored 1976 Bedford MK gritter !

 

Edited August 5, 2018 by jcb 3c