Western Railroad Discussion > Two Canadian Provinces now allow 60ft Containers

It seems that Alberta and Ontario now allow 60ft. Containers(and probably Trailers too) on their highways.
http://www.trucknews.com/equipment/canadian-tire-cp-unveil-60-ft-container-calgary/1003078421/

Wow, that's pretty big. Years back, some truckers wanted 56 or 57 feet trailers legalized but states shot that down. 53 footers are long enough, in my view.

SantaFeRuss

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they run 57' trailers here in Alabama. only a handful of carriers are running them,mainly the ones running auto parts to mercades benz in vance,al. i know Transport America and Averitt Express have them for that service.

Would the reason be for allowing more cu. ft. of capacity when loaded weight limit would not be exceeded?

-John

jcaestecker Wrote:
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> Would the reason be for allowing more cu. ft. of
> capacity when loaded weight limit would not be
> exceeded?
>
> -John

I would think so, consider the 80 ft. high cube box cars used in auto parts traffic. Things like seats that take up a lot of space for not so much weight.
Charie

Containers still have to fit into racks on ships and need to lock together for ship transport. Are any ships accepting these oversize units ?

mrsaxtonsr Wrote:
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> Containers still have to fit into racks on ships
> and need to lock together for ship transport. Are
> any ships accepting these oversize units ?

Domestic containers do not travel on ships, except maybe for inital new delivery.

So, maritime containers are different than domestic containers ? Learn something everyday. Thanks MS

Height is different between international and domestic I believe.

Mike Root
Madras, OR

What about fitting on container trains ?
I suppose the 60 footers would still have the same standard 40' container locking pin locations and configurations ?

I've noticed there are differences in maritime container heights. If you look at container ship disasters on YouTube, you can see that the individual stacks of containers are not tied together. When one stack tips over, it takes the rows next to it down as well. I guess this is to accommodate containers of different heights.

The height can be different. But the primary difference is in the strength of the container itself. Ocean going containers have the ability to withstand 20-25 containers high while I belive domestic are only rated for 5-8 heigh. I also belive (but could be wrong) that most domestic containers have 24,000 floors whereas most oceangoing containers are only rated at 12,000 - 15,000 pound floors.

Quite often they are what is know as cubed out, meaning they still can handle more weight but no more volume as its full.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Would the reason be for allowing more cu. ft. of
> capacity when loaded weight limit would not be
> exceeded?
>
> -John

I saw a Walmart 60' trailer eastbound out of Calgary last week. It was a standard looking tri-axle trailer other than being 60' long, which was amply advertised on the side of it.

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Darren Boes
Lethbridge, AB
Southern Alberta Railfan

International containers are 20',40' and 45' in length. Some of those are higher than others. Domestic containers generally are 48' and 53' in length. United Parcel Service has/had 28' containers. Not sure those are in service. I have not noticed any lately. All the containers connect on 40 foot lengths to double stack them. Just learned earlier in this post about 60' containers being used in two Canadian provinces. Learn something new every day.

SantaFeRuss

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/17 22:42 by SantaFeRuss.

International Containers can be 8', 8'6", 9', and 9'6". The small sizes are now rare.

The 28 foot pups may be in tandem service in several eastern states.

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