Modeling a Rail-Marine Container Terminal

by Bernard Kempinski

The surge in container traffic has swept contemporary railroading, both prototype and model. Heavy trains of double stacked well cars loaded with colorful containers have replaced the familiar box cars of the past and are now the hotshots on many railroad systems. Fortunately, vendors now offer models of most intermodal equipment in both HO and N scale. Providing layout destinations for this equipment in the form of intermodal terminals, particularly the rail-sea terminals, will add interest, excitement and realism. In this article I'll describe how to design a model rail-marine container terminal by describing the important components of such a terminal and describe how I built such a terminal on NTrak module.

Container terminals evolved into specialized cargo handling facilities in order to satisfy the peak demand and rapid turnaround required by container carriers. Modern container terminals allow the unloading of ships in a matter of hours where formerly days or even weeks were the norm. Fast turn around time for the ship significantly contributes to the economic efficiency of the whole container transport process.

A specialized container terminal is not necessary for the handling of containers-but it is faster. Many of the ports in the United States do not have specialized facilities for handling containers, instead they make do with conventional layouts and handling gear used for non-containerized cargo. In these cases the ship's gear, mobile cranes on dockside or shore based fixed booms unload the containers. In some ports the quays may not be wide enough for maneuvering of containers. These require assembly areas near the port where containers can be stored and prepared for loading. However, the more interesting facility to model is the specialized container terminal. Shippers were quick to adopt these capital intensive facilities because they produce the lowest over-all cost. The unique, often colorful equipment, presents exciting modeling opportunities.

The large equipment makes modeling an intermodal facility a challenge. Piggy back flats stretch up to 89 feet long, more than double the length of a traditional 40 foot box car. Furthermore, double stack well cars with 45 foot containers and the length to accommodate the rail bogies are also large. The cranes and facilities needed to transfer, process and store containers cover many acres, while the container ships that dock alongside stretch up to 800 feet long. Even in N scale a ship this large would be 6 feet long. To plan a faithful representation we need to distill the essential elements of the rail-marine container terminal into a manageable yet believable size.

Rail-Marine Terminal Functions and Features

To model a rail-marine container terminal you need to consider the major functions involved in the preparation of containers for ship board loading and then incorporate these in some form on your layout. The functions include the following: inbound receiving, consolidation, container inspection, marshaling and finally loading.

The inbound receiving point, located near the terminal gate, logs all incoming cargo. State of the art facilities have automated systems that expedite in-processing. All less-than-car-load (l-c-l) cargo is brought to the container freight station and consolidated into outgoing containers, while inbound containers move directly to a truck operations yard, a temporary holding area where workers inspect containers and check paperwork. With completed inspections and paperwork the containers move to the container marshaling yard. Containers in this area are ready for loading aboard ship.

When the ship arrives, yard equipment moves the containers and positions them under the loading cranes. These cranes place the containers on board ship. The ship's crew carefully control the process to avoid uneven loading that could capsize the ship. They also plan the blocking to expedite unloading at various ports. This is the most time critical phase in the whole process. The ideal is uninterrupted movement of the loading cranes since this determines the overall loading rate. Whenever possible in the loading sequence there must be another container waiting ready to be engaged by the crane and hoisted on the ship. Terminal operators use various systems for container handling depending on several factors such as the relative availability of land area, labor costs, proximity to other transportation infrastructure and local demand. Many container terminals employ multiple handling systems to tailor their operation to local conditions. So there is ample justification for including several different container handling systems in a model terminal.

The first system used was simply containers kept on trailers and pulled by yard tractors. This system requires the highest area but low capital investment and affords easy equipment availability. On the other hand, storing and stacking containers on the ground allows higher utilization of land area but requires a means to load and move the containers within the terminal. Several systems evolved for these purposes: for example, front loaders, straddle carriers and gantry cranes.

Front loaders resemble large fork lifts with special cradles that can pick up a container. They carry the containers sideways so they require wide aisles, but can double or triple stack, which permits higher utilization of land. They can unload containers from rail cars or from inbound trailers. In the prototype, operator visibility can be a problem since the container is carried in an elevated position but this is not a concern in our models. Walthers stocks HO models of this type vehicle while an N scale model was once produced by N Scale of Nevada but is currently out of production.

Straddle carriers resemble boat lifts. They straddle the container, then lift and carry it. They can be the principal carrier for the terminal or they can be used as an adjunct to other types of equipment. These vehicles are highly flexible in operation and permit high utilization of land area at the expense of higher unit and maintenance costs. For example, experience shows that a front end loader based system can store 56 forty foot containers per acre while straddle trucks can double this amount. Thus for cramped model applications, straddle trucks are prototypically justified. No kit is available but one could kitbash a model of these by reducing the width of the rubber tired Mi-Jack crane kits available in HO and N scale.

The rubber tired overhead gantry crane combined with trailers for moving longer distances provides an efficient system for terminals that handle larger quantities of containers. Rail mounted gantry cranes can be even more efficient. The rails provide the capability to support heavy cranes which can span several stacks of containers, truck lanes or railroad tracks. Several gantry crane models are available in HO and N scale.

A popular prototype system, and the one I chose to model, is a large rail mounted quayside gantry crane with rail and truck lanes below. This compact arrangement, ideal for model railroads, allows loading of containers from both trucks and rail cars directly to the ship.

The Module

The Chase Marine Terminal Module depicts a hypothetical modern intermodal rail-marine facility on a 2x4 foot NTrak module. On the right side of the module, the Chase Marine Terminal, Inc., named after my son, represents a fictional corporate entity operating an intermodal transfer point for container traffic intended for US-Canadian inter-coastal, and Caribbean trade. The left side of the module depicts an older industrial district. The Canton area of Baltimore harbor served as the inspiration for many of the structures and setting in the module. A small container terminal at Port Arthur, Texas, the plan for which was published in the 1987 Jane's Freight Containers, provided the inspiration for the general arrangement of the gantry crane, freight house and access road. The fenced in container yard has a check in area with a lighted gate house which processes inbound containers. There is a yard office building near the entrance where drivers check in. An adjacent small paved area provides room to store several containers, and trailers.

The track plan provides rail service to the container yard as well as the American Can Company. The plan includes a spur to the container freight house for l-c-l cargo and two spurs for the gantry crane. These spurs each can hold one five car double stack articulated set. The plan includes a run-around track to shuffle cars and engine. The spur to the American Can Company is unrealistically placed in the sense that to serve this industry, the engine has to enter the container yard area. Ideally, the spur should branch directly off the run around track, but there was insufficient room to accommodate this without a custom made crossing track. The scenery on the module reflects the harbor side theme with scratchbuilt piers, breakwaters and pilings. The simple scenery helps emphasize the detailed models of intermodal equipment.

The Marco Solo Container Ship is a scratchbuilt model based on the Bell Corporation R class container ships. The prototype's compact 86 meter length can accommodate 120 twenty foot containers. It is typical of the short sea type container vessels and by virtue of its relatively small size is ideally suited for a model railroad harbor. I obtained the plans by successively enlarging a small set of plans published in 1985 Jane's Merchant Vessels. I was fortunate in that in 1982 Jane's Merchant Review published several photos of the same ship. The hull is typical of modern vessel design in that it has a parallel mid-body that also makes modeling it much simpler. I carved the model hull from a 1"x4"x19" poplar board, while the superstructure and bulwarks are made from sheet styrene and Plastruct shapes. Commercial ship fittings and containers as well as scratchbuilt and plaster cast containers complete the model. If you elect to make the ship larger, remember that stacks of containers 3 or more high generally require lashing.

The Container Gantry Crane is also a scratchbuilt model based on the Paceco 32 ton gantry crane prototype located in the Sea Land facility at the Seagirt terminal in Baltimore, Md. This is one of the oldest, as well as smallest shore side container gantry cranes. Nonetheless, I had to reduce its dimensions to 80 percent and remove two sections of the boom to fit it into the scene. I drew a side elevation working from photos and measurements of the prototype. I then used photos as a guide while constructing the top and end views . Although seemingly complex, the model is a collection of many simple shapes. There are over 500 individual cut pieces in this model.

I used Plastruct 3/8th inch square tubing for the main structural A frame members. This is a simplification as the actual crane frames members have a varying cross section which tapers towards the ends. The lack of the taper is not too noticeable in N scale. However, builders in a larger scale might consider scratchbuilding these pieces to include the taper. The large mitered cuts on the top of the A frame are covered with 0.10 inch plastic sheet. Trim pieces of 0.30 x 0.30 inch styrene glued around the tubing simulate the bolting flanges between main components of the A frame.

The boom consists of pieces of Plastruct C channel cut to fit. Use the plans and prototype photos as a guide. A impressive aspect of the model are the see-through walkways. I built these by first cutting a appropriate lengths of 0.40x 0.40 inch strip styrene. Then I super-glued 0.25 inch wide strips of Micromesh to these strips. Finally, I glued Plastruct handrails to the sides and ladders to connect the various walkways. These are time-consuming to build but highlight the model.

I airbrushed the frame a dark gray and dry brushed with a lighter shade of gray. The handrails received a bright yellow applied by small brush. The prototype crane is in remarkably good shape given its age. There is little weathering, other than faded paint, evident and the model reflects this. I applied dry transfer letters along the upper cross frame to advertise the name of the facility.

I scratchbuilt the spreader from photos, assembling it right on the container.

The American Can Company building is based on the defunct but colorful factory of the same name in Canton, Baltimore. This scratchbuilt model used styrene and embossed brick plastic. I made the window mullions using door screen, clear acetate and thin zap-a-gap glue.

Warn Ink Factory, Atlantic Southwest Broom Company, Gus' Mobil Station and the Freight Warehouse are N scale building kits slightly modified to fit their The pier adjacent to the warehouse was scratchbuilt with toothpicks and scale lumber.

Other scenic techniques included a water surface created by gloss Mod-Podge applied in multiple layers over midnight blue paint. The painted masonite skyboard depicts a typical hazy day. Durham's water putty over matboard bases served as paving for the roads and parking areas. The fences are either photoetched kits or Micromesh super-glued to wire posts. Scribed styrene 0.40 inch thick simulated the concrete sidewalks. All vehicles, structures, figures and rolling stock are painted, weathered and dull coated.

A rail-marine container terminal can provide an exciting focal point for any contemporary layout. Although the prototype facilities can be very large, this module demonstrates that a convincing model with realistic operational potential need not require a large area if the design includes the important functional elements