The Box That Changed Britain

[Ian J.]

I can't see any other posts about this one, so it looks like it almost escaped the net...

 

BBC iPlayer Link (originally broadcast 7.00pm Saturday 15th May, 2010)

 

A fascinating documentary about how the container changed the way goods are shipped around the country, and around the world. While it has no railway content as such, I found it very informing about the way goods were transhipped before the advent of the container, and how dock labour was affected by its introduction. Reading between the lines, I can see it might very well have been one of the key inventions that killed off the smaller general rail cargo carrying in this country.

[andyman7]

I can recommend it, very informative social history!

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

Yes, I've just watched it, very interesting!

 

There was a couple of shots showing Intermodel Trains

 

Simon

[Baby Deltic]

Good documentary.

[Hammer]

It's amazing how you can take an interest in looking at and identifying trains (I'm too much of a steam man to spot properly), but not really think that people might go ship spotting.

 

It is a fascinating social history. I'm not sure I can really say more without getting into a rule breach though

 

Highly recommended documentary.

[Guest Max Stafford]

Hammer, I'm just old enough to remember the big blue cranes handling loose cargo at Princes Dock in 1970. The ships being unloaded then were big CP 'Empresses' with buff funnel and 'Polish Flag' emblems or 'Blue Star' cargo liners. The revolutionary aspect of containerisation is amply illustrated by the memory I have from three years later of seeing two big green and black 'CP Ships' vessels lying off the Tail of the Bank laden with tin boxes, awaiting access to the 'Clydeport' terminal that replaced Princes Pier at Greenock somewhere in between those two dates. That must have kept Freightliner going nicely back then!

 

To put things in perspective though, a modern 40' box probably carries as much as four traditional 12T vans, so each of those big intermodal freights I see thundering past Kingmoor every day probably replaces three or four of the old classic van trains. It may well be that the amount of 'general freight' carried on the railway today on long-distance hauls isn't that different from, say, 1968!

 

Dave.