How do they load and unload double-stacked containers onto the railrood car?

Question

Is it done with cranes? And how do they connect the crane and container? Doesn't it tilt when they lift it?

Answer 1

the cranes usually roll over top the containers to pick them up. Then can be shifted sideways over the railroad car and lowered. Usually by cable or chains, they hang straight down, from corner lifting, so no tilting. It's not a huge forklift.

- The Gremlin Guy -

Answer 2

they use cranes and if you look very closly you'll see at the corners where they stack its got a wedge in there so they dont slide

Answer 3

It's called a "Top loader".  A giant forklift that can grab a whole container.  A person runs around releasing the latches between upper and lower container, then the top loader lifts it off.

There's a show called "Extreme Engineering - Container ships" that talks all about it.

Netflix http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Extreme_Eng...

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KGG...

Answer 4

Either an overhead gantry that runs on a track system and uses cables or a large wheeled machine that uses hudraulics to move them around.

They are locked in place with oblong shaped devices that go into matching holes in the containers and then are turned slightly to lock things together.

Quite an efficient way of moving freight.

Answer 5

it is a special crane called a piggy packer, a large rubber tire crane, and yes it does tilt backwards.it has rotating locks on the corners that the operator controls

Answer 6

superman does it.......ha ha cranes of course

Answer 7

At our local rail yard, they use huge fork-lift type machines that have arms that go over the top of the container and then lift from the bottom.  The containers do tilt to the side when lifted with this machine, but probably no more than when the train is going around a curve.