Shipping Containers Blog

Posts Tagged ‘flat racks’

I am often being asked to give details of size and weight of shipping containers, so I thought it would be useful to attach a table giving the details.

These are the most common sizes of used shipping containers although there are, other more specialist containers such as flat racks etc that might be of interest to some of you and which we will feature on another occasion.

Yesterday we were talking about container dimensions for the most commonly used shipping containers.  This prompted several of you to ask me about what other containers were used for transportation.  Today’s post therefore, features three of the specialist containers I mentioned yesterday.

Flat racks or platforms are ISO containers that do not have side walls and are used to transport heavy machinery. They often have collapsible ends for ease of transportation when not in use.  They are often very popular for over sized pallets as well.

• Open top containers are shaped like a box and can be loaded from the top or end. Their main purpose is to carry heavy, tall or hard-to-load materials such as coal or grain.  They  are basically steel containers that have a tilt at the bottom and a tarpaulin cover and can be seen quite commonly on trains.

• Finally tank containers  or bulktainers which are used to transport liquid or bulk materials. They are built to the same standard dimensions as other ISO containers but are cylindrical vessels mounted in a rectangular steel framework.

These then are some more of what seems to be an infinite variety of shipping containers that you might comonly see when travelling by road, sea or train.

Shipping containers were used as platforms for a spectacular firework display to mark Liverpool’s transition from European Capital of Culture 2008 to a European Culture Capital.

Shipping Containers at Liverpool Firework Display

The firework display, held on 10th January 2009, was produced by Walk the Plank who hired the specialist containers in the form of 20ft collapsible flat racks from CS Shipping Containers. Everything had to be delivered within a very tight schedule to Liverpool Docks. Here the flat racks were converted into platforms from which the fireworks were mounted before being lifted on to boats straddling the Mersey and set off to much excitement.

Fireworks on shipping container flat racks

The display was watched by over 35,000 people who had no idea of the logistics behind the spectacular display.

Flat racks are generally used for transporting awkward shaped loads that will not fit inside the 8ft width of a ordinary shipping container. Examples of loads the containers would be used for would be heavy machinery, boats etc. On collapsible flat racks the two ends of the rack fold flat into the middle making it easier to transport multiples on one lorry when the shipping containers are not in use.

20ft collapsible end flat rack

Shipping Containers as part of such a spectacular firework display? It is amazing what uses shipping containers can be put to!