103-597: The Warship Preservation Trust was based in Birkenhead , Wirral , England and hosted Europe's largest collection of preserved warships . The collection was brought to Birkenhead in 2002 and was moored in the West Float of the Birkenhead docks complex . The fleet consisted of the frigate HMS Plymouth and the submarine HMS Onyx , both from the Falklands War ; the minehunter HMS Bronington ;
206-652: A U.S. patent in 1938 on their method of securing trailers to a flatcars using chains and turnbuckles. Other components included wheel chocks and ramps for loading and unloading the trailers from the flatcars. By 1953, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy , the Chicago and Eastern Illinois , and the Southern Pacific railroads had joined the innovation. Most of the rail cars used were surplus flatcars equipped with new decks. By 1955, an additional 25 railroads had begun some form of piggyback trailer service. During WWII,
309-565: A capacity of 30,000 pounds (14,000 kg) in 890 cubic feet (25 m ), and a second measured 20 ft 0 in (6.10 m) by 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) by 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m), with a capacity of 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg) in 1,000 cubic feet (28 m ). In November 1932, in Enola, PA , the first container terminal in the world was opened by the Pennsylvania Railroad . The Fitch hooking system
412-481: A capacity of 5,500 kg (12,100 lb), and up to 3.1 by 2.3 by 2 metres (10 ft 2 in × 7 ft 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 in × 6 ft 6 + 3 ⁄ 4 in) size. This became the first post World War II European railway standard UIC 590, known as "pa-Behälter." It was implemented in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, West Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark. With
515-447: A dedicated double-stack container train service between Los Angeles and Chicago, transport volumes increased rapidly. Containerization greatly reduced the expense of international trade and increased its speed, especially of consumer goods and commodities. It also dramatically changed the character of port cities worldwide. Prior to highly mechanized container transfers, crews of 20 to 22 longshoremen would pack individual cargoes into
618-582: A freight only service to Dublin commenced. The Mersey Ferry at Woodside operates a passenger service to Liverpool and chartered cruising. During winter months, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company operates a service from Birkenhead to Douglas using MS Ben-my-Chree . Due to weather conditions, this service temporarily replaces the route that normally operates from the Liverpool landing stage using fast craft. Containerization Containerization
721-561: A further depot adjacent to Birkenhead Park station. The remains of the Birkenhead Dock Branch are still extant in a cutting through the centre of the town, which was used primarily for freight services. Much of the peripheral railway infrastructure, around the docks, has been removed since the 1980s. Birkenhead had the first street tramway in Britain. Opened on 29 August 1860, the first line ran from Woodside (adjoining
824-604: A heritage tramway between Woodside and Wirral Transport Museum ; Birkenhead Corporation Tramways car No.20 is preserved on this line. As part of the Wirral Waters development, a street car service has been proposed, to be called Wirral Street Car . Junctions 1 and 3 of the M53 motorway facilitate access to the national motorway network. The A41 trunk road connects Woodside with Marble Arch in London. Two road tunnels,
927-616: A leased share of the global ocean container fleet reaching 54% by 2020. In 2021, the average time to unload a container in Asia was 27 seconds, the average time in Northern Europe was 46 seconds, and the average time in North America was 76 seconds. There are five common standard lengths: US domestic standard containers are generally 48 ft (14.63 m) and 53 ft (16.15 m) (rail and truck). Container capacity
1030-475: A lengthy and complex series of compromises among international shipping companies, European railroads, US railroads, and US trucking companies. Everyone had to sacrifice something. For example, to McLean's frustration, Sea-Land's 35-foot container was not adopted as one of the standard container sizes. In the end, four important ISO ( International Organization for Standardization ) recommendations standardized containerization globally: Based on these standards,
1133-443: A popular way to ship private cars and other vehicles overseas using 20- or 40-foot containers. Unlike roll-on/roll-off vehicle shipping, personal effects can be loaded into the container with the vehicle, allowing easy international relocation. In July, 2020, The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), a non-profit group established to further digitalisation of container shipping technology standards, published standards for
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#17327808599821236-522: A population of 88,818. The wider Urban Subdivision had a population of over 142,000. However, this latter figure includes areas such as Greasby and Frankby , which are separate from Birkenhead. These are the 2011 ethnic groups for the town: Birkenhead Park is acknowledged to be the first publicly funded park in Britain . The park was the forerunner of the Parks Movement and its influence
1339-542: A refitted tanker ship, the SS ; Ideal X , and sailed them from Newark, New Jersey to Houston, Texas . Independently of the events in Canada, McLean had the idea of using large containers that never opened in transit and that were transferable on an intermodal basis, among trucks, ships, and railroad cars. McLean had initially favored the construction of "trailerships"—taking trailers from large trucks and stowing them in
1442-731: A representation of Dover in the 1920s. Other notable landmarks include Bidston Windmill on a ridge behind the town, Flaybrick Watertower and Birkenhead Priory & St. Mary's Tower . Horse-drawn buses began operating in Birkenhead in 1848, to be replaced with motor vehicles after the First World War . Present-day services are run by operators including Arriva and Stagecoach , which are coordinated by Merseytravel . National Express provides long-distance coach services to other UK cities, with direct routes including London, Glasgow, Bangor and Newcastle . The bus station
1545-432: A ship's cargo hold. This method of stowage, referred to as roll-on/roll-off , was not adopted because of the large waste in potential cargo space on board the vessel, known as broken stowage . Instead, McLean modified his original concept into loading just the containers, not the chassis, onto the ship; hence the designation "container ship" or "box" ship. (See also pantechnicon van and trolley and lift van .) During
1648-543: A smaller, half-size unit of 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) long, 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) wide and 6 ft 10 + 1 ⁄ 2 in (2.10 m) high. CONEXes could be stacked three high, and protected their contents from the elements. The first major shipment of CONEXes, containing engineering supplies and spare parts, was made by rail from the Columbus General Depot in Georgia to
1751-402: A vehicle from the factory and taken to a port warehouse where they would be offloaded and stored awaiting the next vessel. When the vessel arrived, they would be moved to the side of the ship along with other cargo to be lowered or carried into the hold and packed by dock workers. The ship might call at several other ports before off-loading a given consignment of cargo. Each port visit would delay
1854-728: Is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers , or ISO containers ). Containerization, also referred as container stuffing or container loading , is the process of unitization of cargoes in exports. Containerization is the predominant form of unitization of export cargoes today, as opposed to other systems such as the barge system or palletization. The containers have standardized dimensions. They can be loaded and unloaded, stacked, transported efficiently over long distances, and transferred from one mode of transport to another— container ships , rail transport flatcars , and semi-trailer trucks —without being opened. The handling system
1957-438: Is an important benefit of containerization. Once the cargo is loaded into a container, it is not touched again until it reaches its destination. The cargo is not visible to casual viewers, and thus is less likely to be stolen. Container doors are usually sealed so that tampering is more evident. Some containers are fitted with electronic monitoring devices and can be remotely monitored for changes in air pressure, which happens when
2060-546: Is at one end of the Borderlands Line , it serves the rural centre of Wirral, near Shotton it leaves England for Wales, serving Wrexham General and terminating at Wrexham Central ,. Railways reached Birkenhead in 1840, when the Chester and Birkenhead Railway began services. Birkenhead Grange Lane station opened at the same time, becoming the town's first terminus. Birkenhead Dock station opened in 1866, as
2163-573: Is listed separately), and only 34,299,572 in the United States. In 2005, some 18 million containers made over 200 million trips per year. Some ships can carry over 14,500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), such as the Emma Mærsk , 396 m (1,299 ft) long, launched in August 2006. It has been predicted that, at some point, container ships will be constrained in size only by
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#17327808599822266-495: Is mechanized so that all handling is done with cranes and special forklift trucks. All containers are numbered and tracked using computerized systems. Containerization originated several centuries ago but was not well developed or widely applied until after World War II , when it dramatically reduced the costs of transport, supported the post-war boom in international trade , and was a major element in globalization . Containerization eliminated manual sorting of most shipments and
2369-542: Is often expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU, or sometimes teu ). An equivalent unit is a measure of containerized cargo capacity equal to one standard 20 ft (6.10 m) (length) × 8 ft (2.44 m) (width) container. As this is an approximate measure, the height of the box is not considered. For instance, the 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) high cube and the 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) half height 20 ft (6.10 m) containers are also called one TEU. 48' containers have been phased out over
2472-534: Is outside the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral) and the contiguous built-up areas which link those towns. In the 2011 Census , the area so defined had a total population of 325,264, making it the 19th largest conurbation in England and Wales. Shipbuilding and ship repair has featured prominently in the local economy since the 19th century. Cammell Laird entered receivership in 2001. The shipyard
2575-564: Is planned to regenerate much of the dockland. The name Birkenhead probably means "headland overgrown with birch", from the Old English bircen meaning birch tree, of which many once grew on the headland which jutted into the river at Woodside . The name is not derived from the Birket , a stream which enters the Mersey between Birkenhead and Seacombe. The Birket is a later name which
2678-561: The Australian Army used containers to more easily deal with various breaks of gauge in the railroads. These non-stackable containers were about the size of the later 20-foot ISO container and perhaps made mainly of wood. During the same time, the United States Army started to combine items of uniform size, lashing them onto a pallet, unitizing cargo to speed the loading and unloading of transport ships. In 1947
2781-585: The German submarine U-534 ; and LCT 7074 , the last surviving tank landing craft that took part in D-Day . On 5 February 2006 the museum closed due to being required to relocate. This was as a result of a decision to redevelop the adjacent Grade II listed former flour milling warehouses. Without a replacement berthing agreement, the Trust subsequently went into voluntary liquidation. By default, ownership of
2884-575: The Little Eaton Gangway , upon which coal was carried in wagons built at his Butterley Ironwork. The horse-drawn wheeled wagons on the gangway took the form of containers, which, loaded with coal, could be transshipped from canal barges on the Derby Canal , which Outram had also promoted. By the 1830s, railroads were carrying containers that could be transferred to other modes of transport. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway in
2987-611: The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority , which has been led by a directly elected mayor since 2017. As of 2024 the current Member of Parliament for the constituency of Birkenhead is Alison McGovern who is part of the Labour Party . The Birkenhead Urban Area , as defined by the Office for National Statistics , includes Birkenhead, Wallasey , Bebington, Ellesmere Port (which
3090-593: The Onyx has since been scrapped. On 27 June 2007, the Merseytravel transit authority announced that it had acquired U-534 to display at the Woodside Ferry Terminal . For technical reasons and to facilitate economical transportation to its new site, the vessel was cut into four sections. It will be displayed in this form to allow visitors better access and visibility. Beginning on 10 March 2008,
3193-733: The Port of San Francisco , then by ship to Yokohama, Japan, and then to Korea, in late 1952. Transit times were almost halved. By the time of the Vietnam War the majority of supplies and materials were shipped by CONEX. By 1965 the U.S. military used some 100,000 Conex boxes, and more than 200,000 in 1967. making this the first worldwide application of intermodal containers. After the US Department of Defense standardized an 8-by-8-foot (2.44 by 2.44 m) cross section container in multiples of 10-foot (3.05 m) lengths for military use, it
Warship Preservation Trust - Misplaced Pages Continue
3296-641: The Queensway Tunnel . The station also has frequent services to as far away as Chester . The major underground station in Birkenhead is Birkenhead Hamilton Square , the nearest station to the ferry terminal. Hamilton Square station is linked to the Liverpool Loop of the Wirral Line , which includes Liverpool James Street , Moorfields , Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool Central stations; all of these are underground. Other stations in
3399-886: The Queensway road tunnel from Birkenhead and the Kingsway road tunnel from Wallasey, run underneath the River Mersey and connect the town to Liverpool. Birkenhead's dock system is part of the Port of Liverpool , operated by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company under the ownership of The Peel Group . The Twelve Quays ferry terminal allows a direct freight and passenger vehicle service to Dublin and Belfast . Daily Belfast services are run by Stena Line , using their RoPax ferries MS Stena Edda and MS Stena Embla from 2020 to 2021, which replaced MS Stena Lagan and MS Stena Mersey . In 2024,
3502-532: The Transportation Corps developed the Transporter , a rigid, corrugated steel container with a 9,000 lb (4,100 kg) carrying capacity, for shipping household goods of officers in the field. It was 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) long, 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), and 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) high, with double doors on one end, mounted on skids, and had lifting rings on
3605-829: The White Pass and Yukon Corporation . Her first trip carried 600 containers between North Vancouver, British Columbia, and Skagway, Alaska, on November 26, 1955. In Skagway, the containers were unloaded to purpose-built railroad cars for transport north to Yukon, in the first intermodal service using trucks, ships, and railroad cars. Southbound containers were loaded by shippers in Yukon and moved by rail, ship, and truck to their consignees without opening. This first intermodal system operated from November 1955 until 1982. The first truly successful container shipping company dates to April 26, 1956, when American trucking entrepreneur McLean put 58 trailer vans later called containers, aboard
3708-568: The Wirral Hundred of Cheshire . As the town began to develop rapidly in the early nineteenth century, there was a need for more urban forms of local government. In 1833 a body of improvement commissioners was set up covering the chapelry of Birkenhead. The commissioners' district was enlarged in 1843 to take in the township of Claughton with Grange and part of Oxton . Local government districts were subsequently established for Tranmere in 1860 and Oxton in 1863. In 1877 Birkenhead
3811-591: The 1880s. On 31 January 2018, Marks & Spencer announced the closure of their store, in the town centre of Birkenhead, happening in April. During the 1970s, the commercial centre of the town was redeveloped around the principal shopping area of Grange Road. Following two fires at the expanded Birkenhead Market in 1969 and 1974, it was moved to new premises adjoining the Grange Shopping Precinct development in 1977. Commercial expansion continued in
3914-542: The 1960s, ICC approval was required before any shipper could carry different items in the same vehicle or change rates. The fully integrated systems in the US today became possible only after the ICC's regulatory oversight was cut back (and abolished in 1995). Trucking and rail were deregulated in the 1970s and maritime rates were deregulated in 1984. Double-stacked rail transport , where containers are stacked two high on railway cars,
4017-608: The American and then the international standard for corner fittings for shipping containers. This began international standardization of shipping containers. The first vessels purpose-built to carry containers had begun operation in 1926 for the regular connection of the luxury passenger train between London and Paris, the Golden Arrow / Fleche d'Or . Four containers were used for the conveyance of passengers' baggage. These containers were loaded in London or Paris and carried to
4120-731: The International Chamber of Commerce in Paris in Venice on September 30, 1931, on one of the platforms of the Maritime Station (Mole di Ponente), practical tests assessed the best construction for European containers as part of an international competition. In 1931, in the U.S., B. F. Fitch designed the two largest and heaviest containers in existence. One measured 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) by 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) by 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) with
4223-493: The Southern US than other areas, but he did not anticipate that containerization might make it cheaper to import such goods from abroad. Most economic studies of containerization merely assumed that shipping companies would begin to replace older forms of transportation with containerization, but did not predict that the process of containerization itself would have a more direct influence on the choice of producers and increase
Warship Preservation Trust - Misplaced Pages Continue
4326-827: The U.S., the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway carried motor carrier vehicles and shippers' vehicles loaded on flatcars between Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois. Beginning in 1929, Seatrain Lines carried railroad boxcars on its sea vessels to transport goods between New York and Cuba. In the mid-1930s, the Chicago Great Western Railway and then the New Haven Railroad began " piggyback " service (transporting highway freight trailers on flatcars) limited to their own railroads. The Chicago Great Western Railway filed
4429-850: The UK and "CIWL Pullman Golden Arrow Fourgon of CIWL" in France. At the Second World Motor Transport Congress in Rome, September 1928, Italian senator Silvio Crespi proposed the use of containers for road and railway transport systems, using collaboration rather than competition. This would be done under the auspices of an international organ similar to the Sleeping Car Company, which provided international carriage of passengers in sleeping wagons. In 1928 Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) started regular container service in
4532-491: The UK was one of these, making use of "simple rectangular timber boxes" to convey coal from Lancashire collieries to Liverpool, where a crane transferred them to horse-drawn carriages. Originally used for moving coal on and off barges, "loose boxes" were used to containerize coal from the late 1780s, at places like the Bridgewater Canal . By the 1840s, iron boxes were in use as well as wooden ones. The early 1900s saw
4635-420: The UK, the Port of London and Port of Liverpool declined in importance. Meanwhile, Britain's Port of Felixstowe and Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands emerged as major ports. In general, containerization caused inland ports on waterways incapable of receiving deep- draft ship traffic to decline in favor of seaports , which then built vast container terminals next to deep oceanfront harbors in lieu of
4738-549: The Wirral Peninsula for development, and prompted further growth of Birkenhead as an industrial centre. Bolstered by migration from rural Cheshire, southern Ireland and Wales, the town's population had grown from 110 in 1801 to 110,912 one hundred years later and stood at 142,501 by 1951. 1989 saw the completion of a large shopping development within Birkenhead town centre, known as the Pyramids. Conway Park station
4841-577: The adoption of closed container boxes designed for movement between road and rail. On 17 May 1917, Louisville, Kentucky native Benjamin Franklin "B. F." Fitch (1877–1956) launched commercial use of "demountable bodies" in Cincinnati, Ohio , which he had designed as transferable containers. In 1919, his system was extended to over 200 containers serving 21 railway stations with 14 freight trucks. In 1919, Stanisław Rodowicz, an engineer , developed
4944-496: The aim of selecting the best solution for Western Europe. Present were representatives from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy and the United States. The system chosen for Western Europe was based on the Netherlands' system for consumer goods and waste transportation called Laadkisten (literally, "loading bins"), in use since 1934. This system used roller containers that were moved by rail, truck and ship, in various configurations up to
5047-548: The collection transferred to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC) following the demise of the Trust. Plymouth City Council had expressed an interest in HMS Plymouth , and the HMS Plymouth Preservation Trust undertook to raise the £250,000 needed to bring the warship back to her home city. It had been hoped that the frigate could be berthed at Millbay Docks, but the offer of a berth
5150-534: The container revolution. On January 29, 1963, McLean's company SeaLand released its patent rights, so that Tantlinger's inventions could become "the basis for a standard corner fitting and twist lock". Tantlinger was deeply involved in the debates and negotiations which in back-to-back votes in September 1965 (on September 16 and 24, respectively) led to the adoption of a modified version of the Sea-Land design as
5253-570: The creation of a new park ( Dock Branch Park ), new housing and an improved greener environment. Birkenhead lies within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral , with Wirral Council providing most local government functions. Wirral forms part of the Liverpool City Region , which is led by a directly elected Metro Mayor . Birkenhead was historically a chapelry in the ancient parish of Bidston , which formed part of
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#17327808599825356-615: The delivery of other cargo. Delivered cargo might then have been offloaded into another warehouse before being picked up and delivered to its destination. Multiple handling and delays made transport costly, time-consuming and unreliable. Containerization has its origins in early coal mining regions in England beginning in the late 18th century. In 1766 James Brindley designed the box boat 'Starvationer' with ten wooden containers, to transport coal from Worsley Delph (quarry) to Manchester by Bridgewater Canal . In 1795, Benjamin Outram opened
5459-768: The depth of the Straits of Malacca , one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, linking the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. This so-called Malaccamax size constrains a ship to dimensions of 470 m (1,542 ft) in length and 60 m (197 ft) wide. Few foresaw the extent of the influence of containerization on the shipping industry . In the 1950s, Harvard University economist Benjamin Chinitz predicted that containerization would benefit New York by allowing it to ship its industrial goods more cheaply to
5562-512: The digital exchange of operational vessel schedules (OVS). Contrary to ocean shipping containers owned by the shippers, a persisting trend in the industry is for (new) units to be purchased by leasing companies. Leasing business accounted for 55% of new container purchases in 2017, with their box fleet growing at 6.7%, compared to units of transport operators growing by just 2.4% more TEU, said global shipping consultancy Drewry in their 'Container Census & Leasing and Equipment Insight', leading to
5665-433: The dockfront warehouses and finger piers that had formerly handled break bulk cargo. With intermodal containers, the jobs of packing, unpacking, and sorting cargoes could be performed far from the point of embarkation. Such work shifted to so-called " dry ports " and gigantic warehouses in rural inland towns, where land and labor were much cheaper than in oceanfront cities. This fundamental transformation of where warehouse work
5768-787: The doors are opened. This reduced thefts that had long plagued the shipping industry. Recent developments have focused on the use of intelligent logistics optimization to further enhance security. The use of the same basic sizes of containers across the globe has lessened the problems caused by incompatible rail gauge sizes. The majority of the rail networks in the world operate on a 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) gauge track known as standard gauge , but some countries (such as Russia, India, Finland, and Lithuania) use broader gauges , while others in Africa and South America use narrower gauges . The use of container trains in all these countries makes transshipment between trains of different gauges easier. Containers have become
5871-400: The early 1990s when the Pyramids Shopping Centre was opened. The previous market site has been redeveloped with the construction of two office buildings, primarily to house Land Registry and Department for Work and Pensions offices. In February 2010, the town had an overall unemployment rate of 8.2% (males 12.4%, female 4.1%) as against a national average of 4.4%. In 2011, Birkenhead had
5974-407: The eastern terminus of the Hoylake Railway . With the opening of the Woodside and Birkenhead Dock Street Tramway in 1873, this station probably became the world's first tram to train interchange . In 1886, Birkenhead and Liverpool were linked by an underground railway system, which today is part of the Merseyrail network. From 1878 until its closure in 1967, Birkenhead Woodside station
6077-417: The famous name return to Birkenhead after a seven-year hiatus. In 2010, Cammell Laird secured a £50 million contract to construct the flight deck for HMS Queen Elizabeth , the first of two Queen Elizabeth -class aircraft carriers . In 2015, Cammell Laird was selected as the preferred bidder to construct RRS Sir David Attenborough , a Royal Research Ship . Birkenhead's first market
6180-441: The first TEU container ship was the Japanese Hakone Maru [ de ; jp ] from shipowner NYK, which started sailing in 1968 and could carry 752 TEU containers. In the US, containerization and other advances in shipping were impeded by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which was created in 1887 to keep railroads from using monopolist pricing and rate discrimination, but fell victim to regulatory capture . By
6283-425: The first 20 years of containerization, many container sizes and corner fittings were used. There were dozens of incompatible container systems in the US alone. Among the biggest operators, the Matson Navigation Company had a fleet of 24-foot (7.32 m) containers, while Sea-Land Service, Inc used 35-foot (10.67 m) containers. The standard sizes and fitting and reinforcement norms that now exist evolved out of
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#17327808599826386-430: The first draft of the container system in Poland . In 1920, he built a prototype of the biaxial wagon. The Polish-Bolshevik War stopped development of the container system in Poland. The U.S. Post Office contracted with the New York Central Railroad to move mail via containers in May 1921. In 1930, the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad began shipping containers between Chicago and Milwaukee. Their efforts ended in
6489-410: The first street tramway in Britain. The Mersey Railway connected Birkenhead and Liverpool with the world's first tunnel beneath a tidal estuary; the shipbuilding firm Cammell Laird and a seaport were established. In the second half of the 20th century, the town suffered a significant period of decline, with containerisation causing a reduction in port activity. The Wirral Waters development
6592-407: The hold of a ship. After containerization, large crews of longshoremen were not necessary at port facilities, and the profession changed drastically. Meanwhile, the port facilities needed to support containerization changed. One effect was the decline of some ports and the rise of others. At the Port of San Francisco , the former piers used for loading and unloading were no longer required, but there
6695-483: The loss of the entire crew), HMS Conqueror and HMS Prince of Wales . Merchant vessels were also built such as RMS Mauretania and RMS Windsor Castle . In 1833 an act was passed to introduce street paving, lighting and other improvements in the town. These included establishing a market and regulating the police force. The Mersey Railway tunnel opened in 1886, providing direct railway access to Liverpool. The Grange Road West drill hall
6798-569: The main town hall was built on that designated site. The Hamilton Square town hall site was never used as a market, despite that myth being propagated in many accounts of Birkenhead's history, including official sources. The large market hall which was a famous feature of Birkenhead was built behind the original market, along Albion Street, opening in July 1845. This market hall was built by Fox, Henderson & Co , who later built The Crystal Palace . Michael Marks , of Marks & Spencer , opened one of his first seven 'Penny Bazaar' stalls here during
6901-589: The need for dock front warehouses, while displacing many thousands of dock workers who formerly simply handled break bulk cargo . Containerization reduced congestion in ports, significantly shortened shipping time, and reduced losses from damage and theft. Containers can be made from a wide range of materials such as steel, fibre-reinforced polymer, aluminum or a combination. Containers made from weathering steel are used to minimize maintenance needs . Before containerization, goods were usually handled manually as break bulk cargo . Typically, goods would be loaded onto
7004-484: The northeast U.S. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929 in New York and the subsequent Great Depression, many countries were without any means to transport cargo. The railroads were sought as a possibility to transport cargo, and there was an opportunity to bring containers into broader use. In February 1931 the first container ship was launched. It was called the Autocarrier, owned by Southern Railway UK. It had 21 slots for containers of Southern Railway. Under auspices of
7107-453: The physical barrier of the River Mersey, Birkenhead retained its agricultural status until the advent of steam ferry services. In 1817 a steam ferry service started from Liverpool to Tranmere and in 1822 the paddle steamer, Royal Mail , began operation between Liverpool and Woodside. Shipbuilding started in 1829. An ironworks was established by William Laird in 1824, and he was joined by his son John in 1828. The business eventually became
7210-403: The popularization of the larger ISO containers, support for pa containers was phased out by the railways. In the 1970s they began to be widely used for transporting waste. In 1952 the U.S. Army developed the Transporter into the CONtainer EXpress or CONEX box system. The size and capacity of the Conex were about the same as the Transporter, but the system was made modular , by the addition of
7313-496: The ports of Dover or Calais. In February 1931 the first container ship in the world was launched. It was called the Autocarrier, owned by Southern Railway UK. It had 21 slots for containers of Southern Railway. The next step was in Europe after WW II. Vessels purpose-built to carry containers were used between UK and Netherlands and also in Denmark in 1951. In the United States, ships began carrying containers in 1951, between Seattle , Washington and Alaska. None of these services
7416-442: The sections, each weighing up to 240 tonnes, were transported to Woodside by floating crane over a number of days. In October 2014, LCT 7074 was re-floated and moved to Portsmouth for restoration. Remained moored in Birkenhead until, on 17 March 2016, she sank at her moorings. Birkenhead Birkenhead ( / ˌ b ɜːr k ən ˈ h ɛ d / ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral , Merseyside , England; It
7519-493: The shipbuilder Cammell Laird . Notable naval vessels built at Birkenhead include HMS Achilles , HMS Affray , CSS Alabama , HMS Ark Royal , HMS Birkenhead , HMS Caroline , Huáscar , the pioneer submarine Resurgam , HMS Thetis (which sank in Liverpool Bay during sea trials , and was refloated and commissioned as HMS Thunderbolt , only to be lost to enemy action with
7622-462: The shipping industry "was moving cargo, not sailing ships". He visualized and helped to bring about a world reoriented around that insight, which required not just standardization of the metal containers themselves, but drastic changes to every aspect of cargo handling. In 1955, McLean and Tantlinger's immediate challenge was to design a shipping container that could efficiently be loaded onto ships and would hold securely on sea voyages. The result
7725-540: The spring of 1931 when the Interstate Commerce Commission disallowed the use of a flat rate for the containers. In 1926, a regular connection of the luxury passenger train from London to Paris, Golden Arrow / Fleche d'Or , by Southern Railway and French Northern Railway , began. For transport of passengers' baggage four containers were used. These containers were loaded in London or Paris and carried to ports, Dover or Calais, on flat cars in
7828-559: The terminal of the Mersey Ferry) to Birkenhead Park . This early system was horse-drawn and was the brainchild of flamboyant American, George Francis Train . A preserved tram was on display in the Woodside ferry terminal booking hall. The system was later electrified and operated from 1901 as Birkenhead Corporation Tramways ; it closed in 1937. Two replica trams, imported from Hong Kong, have been brought into service as part of
7931-428: The three entrances, each with a different style of architecture, Gothic , Norman and Italianate . There are also two lakes and an ornate 'Swiss Bridge'. William Laird , a Scot, and his son John , were influential in the design of the town. Parts were laid out in a grid-iron pattern like Edinburgh New Town with similar architecture. The chief architect was James Gillespie Graham from Edinburgh. This grid pattern
8034-641: The top four corners. During the Korean War the Transporter was evaluated for handling sensitive military equipment and, proving effective, was approved for broader use. Theft of material and damage to wooden crates convinced the army that steel containers were needed. In April 1951, at Zürich Tiefenbrunnen railway station , the Swiss Museum of Transport and Bureau International des Containers (BIC) held demonstrations of container systems, with
8137-423: The total volume of trade. The widespread use of ISO standard containers has driven modifications in other freight-moving standards, gradually forcing removable truck bodies or swap bodies into standard sizes and shapes (though without the strength needed to be stacked), and changing completely the worldwide use of freight pallets that fit into ISO containers or into commercial vehicles. Improved cargo security
8240-418: The town include Birkenhead Central , which is open but below ground level; Green Lane , below ground level; Rock Ferry ; Conway Park , below ground level; Birkenhead Park ; Birkenhead North ; and Bidston . The Wirral Line from Birkenhead travels south to Chester and Ellesmere Port , north to New Brighton and westwards, across the Wirral Peninsula, to West Kirby . Bidston (in the north of Birkenhead)
8343-538: Was 354 million TEUs , of which 82 percent were handled by the world's top 100 container ports. As of 2009 , approximately 90% of non- bulk cargo worldwide is moved by containers stacked on transport ships; 26% of all container transshipment is carried out in China. For example, in 2009 there were 105,976,701 transshipments in China (both international and coastal, excluding Hong Kong), 21,040,096 in Hong Kong (which
8446-501: Was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , with the area becoming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and being transferred to the metropolitan county of Merseyside . In 1986 Merseyside County Council was abolished, with Wirral Council then taking on the county council's former functions in the area. Since 2014 Wirral and the other Merseyside boroughs and neighbouring Halton have been covered by
8549-494: Was an 8 feet (2.44 m) tall by 8 ft (2.44 m) wide box in 10 ft (3.05 m)-long units constructed from 2.5 mm ( 13 ⁄ 128 in) thick corrugated steel. The design incorporated a twistlock mechanism atop each of the four corners, allowing the container to be easily secured and lifted using cranes. Several years later, as a Fruehauf executive, Tantlinger went back to McLean and convinced him to relinquish control of their design to help stimulate
8652-520: Was centred around Hamilton Square which was started in 1826 and, apart from Trafalgar Square in London, contains the most Grade I listed buildings in one place in England. including Birkenhead Town Hall . A short distance from Hamilton Square are two other notable landmarks: the Queensway Tunnel Main Entrance and the Woodside Ferry Terminal . The film Chariots of Fire had scenes shot at Woodside. These scenes were as
8755-518: Was completed in 1900. In September 1932 thousands of unemployed people protested in a series of demonstrations organised by the local branch of the National Unemployed Workers Movement . After three days of rioting, police were brought in from elsewhere to help quell the rioters. In addition to the ferries and the railway, the Queensway road tunnel opened in 1934 and gave rapid access to Liverpool. This opened up
8858-539: Was established in 1835 in a purpose-built building in Hamilton Street near its junction with Market Street. This building also contained the town hall, commissioners' offices and a lock-up. It is often said that the first market was opened on the site of the later town hall in Hamilton Square. This is untrue. In fact, part of the eastern side of Hamilton Square was deliberately left empty until 1887, when
8961-407: Was established. In June 1933, the B.I.C. decided on obligatory parameters for containers used in international traffic. Containers handled by means of lifting gear, such as cranes, overhead conveyors, etc. for traveling elevators (group I containers), constructed after July 1, 1933. Obligatory Regulations: In April 1935 BIC established a second standard for European containers: From 1926 to 1947 in
9064-571: Was far reaching both in Britain and abroad – most notably on Frederick Law Olmsted 's design for Central Park in New York City . Designed by Joseph Paxton (later Sir Joseph Paxton) in 1843 and officially opened in 1847, with great festivity. The park's Grand Entrance , modelled on the Temple of Illysus in Athens, and its 'Roman Boathouse' are notable features. There are sandstone lodges at
9167-482: Was incorporated as a municipal borough , with its territory covering the combined area of the old commissioners' district and the two local government districts of Oxton and Tranmere, which were abolished. The new borough also took in the Rock Ferry area from Bebington . When elected county councils were established in 1889, Birkenhead was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it
9270-552: Was introduced by Ordnance Survey . The earliest records state that the Mersey ferry began operating from Birkenhead in 1150, when Benedictine monks under the leadership of Hamon de Mascy built a priory there. The priory was visited in 1275 and 1277 by Edward I . In a royal charter of 13 April 1330, Edward III granted the priory further rights. Distanced from the Industrial Revolution in Liverpool by
9373-531: Was introduced in the US. The concept was developed by Sea-Land and the Southern Pacific railroad. The first standalone double-stack container car (or single-unit 40-ft COFC well car) was delivered in July 1977. The five-unit well car, the industry standard, appeared in 1981. Initially, these double-stack railway cars were deployed in regular train service. Ever since American President Lines initiated in 1984
9476-534: Was little room to build the vast holding lots needed for storing and sorting containers in transit between different transport modes. As a result, the Port of San Francisco essentially ceased to function as a major commercial port, but the neighboring Port of Oakland emerged as the second largest on the US West Coast. A similar fate occurred with the relationship between the ports of Manhattan and New Jersey . In
9579-535: Was made a county borough , making it independent from the new Cheshire County Council , whilst still being deemed part of Cheshire for ceremonial purposes. The council built itself Birkenhead Town Hall on Hamilton Square to serve as its headquarters; the building was opened in 1887. The borough was enlarged in 1928 to absorb Landican , Prenton and Thingwall , and again in 1933 to take in Bidston, Noctorum , Upton and Woodchurch . The borough of Birkenhead
9682-462: Was opened in 1996. It is adjacent to The Grange shopping centre and Birkenhead Market. It has a total of eleven stands and incorporates a travel centre. The main bus operators at the station include Arriva North West and Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire . Services using the bus station operate around the town of Birkenhead, throughout the Wirral and to the nearby city of Liverpool via
9785-410: Was opened in 1998 as part of a development that saw Wirral Metropolitan College open a new campus nearby. The Wirral Waters development was announced in 2006, with work starting in 2011 and expecting to last for around 30 years. Wirral Council announced in 2020 the formulation of a 20 year development plan known as the 'Birkenhead 2040 Framework'. The plan aims to regenerate parts of Birkenhead, with
9888-622: Was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula , along the west bank of the River Mersey , opposite Liverpool . At the 2011 census, it had a population of 88,818. Birkenhead Priory and the Mersey Ferry were established in the 12th century. In the 19th century, Birkenhead expanded greatly as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution . Birkenhead Park and Hamilton Square were laid out as well as
9991-477: Was particularly successful. First, the containers were rather small, with 52% of them having a volume of less than 3 cubic metres (106 cu ft). Almost all European containers were made of wood and used canvas lids, and they required additional equipment for loading into rail or truck bodies. The world's first purpose-built container vessel was Clifford J. Rodgers , built in Montreal in 1955 and owned by
10094-843: Was performed freed up valuable waterfront real estate near the central business districts of port cities around the world for redevelopment and led to a plethora of waterfront revitalization projects (such as warehouse districts ). The effects of containerization rapidly spread beyond the shipping industry. Containers were quickly adopted by trucking and rail transport industries for cargo transport not involving sea transport. Manufacturing also evolved to adapt to take advantage of containers. Companies that once sent small consignments began grouping them into containers. Many cargoes are now designed to precisely fit containers. The reliability of containers made just in time manufacturing possible as component suppliers could deliver specific components on regular fixed schedules. In 2004, global container traffic
10197-416: Was rapidly adopted for shipping purposes. In 1955, former trucking company owner Malcom McLean worked with engineer Keith Tantlinger to develop the modern intermodal container . All the containerization pioneers who came before McLean had thought in terms of optimizing particular modes of transport. McLean's "fundamental insight" which made the intermodal container possible was that the core business of
10300-541: Was sold and became 'Northwestern Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders' (NS&S), which grew into a successful business specialising in ship repair and conversion, including maintenance contracts for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary . In September 2007 NS&S acquired the rights to use the Cammell Laird name. The company was renamed 'Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders' on 17 November 2008, seeing
10403-586: Was the town's mainline railway terminus. Originally sited close to Woodside Ferry Terminal, the site had been redeveloped as part of Cammell Laird ship builders. Latterly, the adjacent dry dock at Cammell Laird was filled in and the area redeveloped to provide flats, a bus depot and offices for HM Land Registry and the Child Support Agency . The town has one operational railway depot, Birkenhead North TMD ; one disused, Birkenhead Central TMD ; and two demolished, Birkenhead Mollington Street TMD and
10506-655: Was used for reloading of the containers. The development of containerization was created in Europe and the U.S. as a way to revitalize rail companies after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 , which had caused economic collapse and reduction in use of all modes of transport. In 1933 in Europe, under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Container Bureau (French: Bureau International des Conteneurs , B.I.C.)
10609-634: Was withdrawn in January 2007 by Associated British Ports . In August 2014, the vessel was towed to Turkey where the ship was scrapped. In May 2006 HMS Onyx was sold to the Barrow-in-Furness businessman Joe Mullen, for a reported £100,000 as a 'gift to the people of Barrow'. It left Birkenhead on 13 June 2006 to form the centrepiece of a new heritage museum in Cumbria . However, with this new museum also running into difficulty, as of July 2014,
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