Funky Load!

You don't get cool loads like this very often on the east coast.  I have seen photos of these same loads going to WA in recent months.

Here we have RQJW 60016 loaded with an Austrans special.  An SLZU 800000 series flatrack, carrying a VATN 48ft container skel trailer, carrying another SLZU flatrack, carrying another VATN skel trailer.  

Super cool load.  These two were likely headed to Brisbane, and another two were on a following MB4 service also.

Enjoy!

 

StraitLink Reefer Recodes

Noticed during March that some of the StraitLink 40+ reefers are being recoded and numbered to ISO standards.  It was only a few months ago that the newest units started getting logos as discussed in my post here.

Formerly TSHR (Toll Shipping), they are now coded SLHR (StraitLink), and have had a prefix added to the old number, plus a check letter.  I'm not entirely sure why the older unit has a 10 prefix and the new unit has a 40 prefix although maybe as more are converted the logic will become clear?

Newish unit TSHR 2201 is now SLHR 402201-9.

Former TSHR 1414 is now SLHR 101414-9.  

Enjoy!

Trigg Island SLSC

Scored this special box on PS7 the other morning.  Cronos box CXDU 112127-1 (45G1) painted up for Trigg Island SLSC WA.   

Enjoy!

Beacon Boxes

Following on from my previous post about the CAI and Beacon merger, I thought I would share a variety of Beacon container photos.  Most of these carry the BEAU code and all are 45G1 type.

Worth noting in my previous post, the brown BEAU container is sporting the most recent Beacon logo compared to the ones below.  

BEAU 420184-4 in the standard brown.  Seem there was a block of these around the 420 series.

BEAU 508988-9 is another stock standard brown container.

BEAU 537072-5 was a series of blue coloured containers which seemed to run in the 535-537 series.  Not sure if they were blue for a customer or just a colour change.  

Possibly built as BMOU 424829-7, this box was a former Hanjin container.  The markings suggest it was always a Beacon lease container.  

They even come in pink.  BEAU 525993-8 is marked for ONE and would no doubt be in a series.

I remember when I first saw these hybrid marked containers.  Obviously brown for Beacon but marked for CMA CGM (in the old style when the new logo was already appearing).  This style of marking is also very common for TS Lines who generally keep the leasing company colours but as TS Lines to the side of the box.  Anyway, a stack of these came out in the 400-413 series.  Here is the highest numbered one I have seen, being 413411-3.

Another brown CMA, this time BEAU 400043-4.

They came in blue also, and with the new logo.  There is a small Beacon logo on the end of this BEAU 467637-2.  The series appears to be 467-468.

Finishing with a strange one, this box is lettered for MSC and marked MSC, but has a Beacon logo on the end door.  MEDU 945044-4 is likely a lease box since it is in reverse MSC colours, being brown with yellow letter rather than yellow with black letters.  Ultimately not dissimilar to the CMA brown boxes.  

These are just a few shots I had at my finger tips.  Enjoy!

CAI and Beacon Merger

Despite being relatively old new, on 1st January 2023, Mitsubishi HC Capital announced that it was merging CAI International and Beacon Intermodal, both major shipping container leasing companies.  The end result is that Beacon will disappear and CAI will become the third largest container leasing company in the world (behind Triton and Textainer and moving ahead of Florens and Seaco). with more than 3.5m TEU in their fleet.

Only recently have I started noticing the new CAI logo which is clearly the Beacon logo but with CAI lettering.  Today I shot a couple of pre-merger containers and a new logo also.

This new logo container is Beacon brown but with CAAU lettering.  It isn't confirmed if the colour scheme will remain red or brown, as this may have been a container that was on order at the time of the merger so could be a hybrid.  Note the logo is very Beacon-ish but with CAI lettering.

An older BEAU 45G1 container with the recent Beacon logo.  It is worth noting that Beacon had similar containers but in a royal blue (CMA CGM blue), and also had plenty of BEAU containers marked for customers including CMA CGM (in both blue and brown livery), and ONE (pink livery).

A pretty recent CAAU 45G1 CAI red container.  Time will tell if CAI keep the red livery or of everything but the name will mimic the Beacon brand.   Pre CAAU code, CAIU was standard, with some being marked for TS Lines (Red with CAI logo and TS Lines logo) and marked for CMA CGM (blue).

Enjoy!

SRT Logistics 41'5 Reefers

Over the past few weeks SRT Logistics reefers have started appearing on MB/BM Pacific National services on the east coast.  SRT is a Tasmanian logistics business. 

These reefers are marked as 41'5" in length and are a common 40' Plus style which is popular with Tasmanian shipping lengths.  The reefer units on these containers are Thermo King A500 series.  

This particular series appears to be SRTF with a number range of 401641-1680, having been manufactured only a few months ago.  

From social media pages, it appears that there are at east 180 reefers with SRT, with the original ones being 401501 (built in 2022), and a second batch being built in 2023 but to a 40'7" design with a more 'in-built' square reefer unit on the end (which is very Tasmanian and follows along the Toll Tasmania and SeaRoad designs).

These boxes are designed by RailBox.

Enjoy!

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AusTube Mills (ATMU) returning empty...

After posting a few weeks ago about the new AusTube Mills flatracks (42PJ model) and their various loading, I managed to get some shots the other day of them returning empty to Newcastle and Brisbane.

They are loaded in stacks three high, with 12 x 5000kg and 2500kg Silverback straps tying the top two down to the base flat.  It doesn't seem to matter if they are loaded front or rear in their stacking.

The middle posts are also lowered.  Pretty neat stacking.

Enjoy! 

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Aurizon Inline Fueller

Aurizon's second Sydney to Perth service recently commenced and this particular service operates an inline fuel arrangement, where as the original service doesn't.

After seeing it a few times, I finally got a photo last week.  The set up is mounted on wagon QQYY 57834-S, with tank QRIF 0004 mounted on skid platform QRIP 04.  The skid arrangement allows the ISO tank container to be pretty stock-standard rather than having a specialised tank containers, with all the smarts built into the skid platform under the tank.  

This concept goes back to at least the early 93 class and Pacific National from around 2010.  I have a few shots on my Blog (search for 'inline') and also scored a photo 10 years ago of the PN setup here.

In addition to the tank and skid, the QQY carries a modified Cronos flatrack CRTU 751705-8.  This is probably Aurizon owned from a pre-cast concrete transport job a few years ago in QLD.  They have modified this 22P3 flatrack with concrete slabs obviously to prevent dynamic unloading on the very front axle of the wagon, as an empty flat would be trouble on a downhill grade with heavy dynamic braking and a decent trailing load.  The flat rack also features an MU cable, main res connection, and fuel hose.  The MR and MU likely power and control the fuel skid.

Enjoy!  

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AusTube Mills Flatracks

AusTube Mills have just taken delivery of more than 150 flatracks for steel product transport.  They are coded ATMU and are numbered in the 400000 series.  They have only started turning up on PN services this week!

If you think they look like the Infrabuild IFRU flatracks, that is because AusTube Mills is a division of  Infrabuild.  It is most likely these flatracks have come from CSL also.     

These flatracks are painted black and stand at 2.5m high (8'3") at the end posts.  The end posts are collapsible to allow stacking but the centre stanchions appear to require removal before stacking.

It appears that these may be replacing a number of older 42P3 shipping flatracks and possibly also K&S KT and KHS flatracks that have previously moved this product from the manufacturing hubs in Brisbane and Newcastle, although the K&S flatracks were moving Orrcon steel (Bluescope).    

During the week, these new ATMU flatracks have appeared on NY3, BM4, and SM2 services, with clear, black, and no wrapping around the product.  Appears the clear wrap is from Newcastle and the black is from Brisbane.  

These look awesome - Enjoy!

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Port Chalmers Straddles

We had a great day and a half berthed at Port Chamlers, with awesome views over the container terminal.  The port is run primarily with manned Kalmar straddles and a few forklifts.  The straddles run most of the boxes to and from the stacks to under the quayside gantry cranes.

I observed over a dozen straddles running around, with both 9 and 12 metre high varieties.   Numbers 22-28 appear to be CSC 350 models (9m), 29-32 appear to be CSC 450 models (12m), 35 and 36 were diesel-electric ESC 350 models, and 37 was an ESC 450 model.  

Enjoy the shots!