Greetings All,
Adding an HO Scale Kalmar Container Crane
At the time I purchased the Walthers Mi-Jack Trans-Lift Crane kit I also purchased a Walthers Kalmar Container Crane kit to upgrade the COFC / TOFC ramp in Terminal Yard. So what exactly is a Kalmar Container Crane and why would I need / want it? Let's examine my reasoning.
Background
From Kalmar website
Kalmar’s history can be traced back to the 1940s, when the first straddle carrier for industrial application was built in Härmälä, near Tampere, Finland. After WWII, Valtion Metallitehtaat (State Metal Factories), which had previously focused on manufacturing and maintaining aircraft and locomotives, was renamed Valmet in 1951.
As a part of the war reparations paid by Finland to the Soviet Union in the 1950s, Valmet's Härmälä factory received an order for 500 lumber carriers, which was an early precursor of the container straddle carrier that would eventually dominate the global logistics industry.
.jpg)
Kalmar's line of terminal tractors originated in the town of Ottawa, Kansas, in the central United States, where Ottawa Steel introduced the world's first terminal tractor in 1958 for moving trailers in ports, terminals, warehouses, and distribution facilities.
By the 1970s, containerization had begun to reshape the global logistics industry. In Finland, Valmet introduced its first prototypes for container straddle carriers in 1976. Evolving into the Kalmar Classic Straddle Carrier, over 2,500 units were delivered over the following four decades, with many still operational today.
In 1985, Kalmar completed the first prototype reach stacker, with commercial deliveries beginning the following year. This versatile machine would become a mainstay in the global logistics industry, with each generation of machines expanding its handling capacity.
Kalmar, renowned for its pioneering role in container handling solutions, has been instrumental in the logistics and shipping industries for decades. Our container handling equipment serves as a cornerstone for the efficient lifting, movement, and storage of shipping containers at marine ports, container yards, and intermodal terminals.
Model Information
The Kalmar Container Crane is part of the Walthers Cornerstone product line as item #933-3109. The kit is based on a prototype built by Kalmar, found in terminals big and small around the world according to the instruction sheet.
With the 40' container now out of the way the operator has closed the spreader arms and moves to lift the 20' container. A driver with a 20' chassis stands by at left to receive the container.
The spreader arms do a good job attaching to the various containers I use on the layout.
The kit comes with decals for various railroads and Kalmar itself. By not painting the kit decals won't be added. No big deal since the road names don't fit the layout and the large Kalmar looks to big for the model.
The driver pulls away and the container is placed on the 60' COFC car.
The Kalmar Container Crane prepares to lift a Dole refrigerated container from it's chassis out of the way of the Mi-Jack and activity on the ramp which is at right.
With the spreader bar removed the crane becomes a very large forklift that can assist in the lifting of smaller Caterpillar equipment on and off flatcars.
Looking towards Terminal Yard we get a nice view of the Mi-Jack working the ramp with the the Caterpillar and other earth moving equipment in the foreground.
Tales from the Ramp
A container crane like this one fit into the tight confines of CSX Hulsey Yard in Atlanta, GA which didn't have the clearances needed for the Mi-Jack. The cranes used in both Hulsey Yard and Fairbairn had the arms for also bottom lifting trailers. The crane had many uses and its portability made it the perfect tool to handle lifts all around the yards.
In Fairbairn, which was a large dedicated intermodal yard / ramp the Mi-Jacks handled the bulk of the work with cranes like the Kalmar working a single track (#6?) that could only be accessed from only one side.
The procedures used with the Kalmar type crane was pretty simple. A yard tractor with a container on chassis pulled up between the crane and the car it was going into. The crane lifted the container off the chassis and the yard tractor pulled away with the empty container. The crane then loaded the container onto or into the waiting intermodal car.
The tractor operator would then park the empty chassis and grab the next container on chassis to be loaded into the train be worked. There were usually several tractor operators assigned to a crane operator so this went pretty smoothly.
Using the Kalmar type crane to load or unload the railcars had an added benefit that kept the ramp clean. The movement of the empty chassis as each was emptied made working with this type of crane much different than having to clean up trackside after the Mi-Jack went thru.
Final Thoughts and Comments
The Kalmar Container Crane was a pretty straight forward build with the exception of the ball bearing weights and installation of the fork lift retainer pin. The instructions have this step AFTER installing the front axle and wheels which effectively blocked the hope for the pin. I didn't glue the wheels onto the plastic axle and was able to remove to be able to insert the plastic retaining pin which locks into place without glue.
Extreme care is needed when gluing any of the parts that contain the parts that are meant to slide. Flash on the inside of the sliding parts will need to be cut and filed.
Additional Links & Photos
Kalmar Crane with side arms for bottom lifting a trailer.
HO Scale Kibri Kalmar Crane with side arms.
CSX Fairbairn Yard today. A short video showing the recent large expansion.
Thanks for reading!!!
See you soon!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment