There’s a more established QUBE using rails but it’s about as far from the UK as you can get, Australia!
Nice one! This thread is probably destined to become a database with all the knowledge shared.
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[Trivia] A to Z of Container Brands
- Thread starter Eskimo
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ACL (Atlantic Container Line, you see a lot of these coming from Seaforth)
CALT LOGIS
Capital Intermodal GmbH
CARU (Container Association Rotterdam)
CCNI (Compañía Chilena de Navegación Interoceánica)
CULINES (China United Lines)
DAL (Deutsche Afrika-Linien)
Ford (not so much these days though, unfortunately)
Global Container International
HOYER
IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances, part of Rentokil Initial, with the logistics handled by IBC)
ITALIA Marittima
Kien Hung
LYS Line (now part of DFDS)
Morrisons
NB (Nordic Bulkers AB)
NewPort Tank Containers
NileDutch
PalTank Ltd
Raffles Lease
Senator
Stolt Tank Containers
Touax Leasing
UBC (United Bulk Carriers)
CALT LOGIS
Capital Intermodal GmbH
CARU (Container Association Rotterdam)
CCNI (Compañía Chilena de Navegación Interoceánica)
CULINES (China United Lines)
DAL (Deutsche Afrika-Linien)
Ford (not so much these days though, unfortunately)
Global Container International
HOYER
IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances, part of Rentokil Initial, with the logistics handled by IBC)
ITALIA Marittima
Kien Hung
LYS Line (now part of DFDS)
Morrisons
NB (Nordic Bulkers AB)
NewPort Tank Containers
NileDutch
PalTank Ltd
Raffles Lease
Senator
Stolt Tank Containers
Touax Leasing
UBC (United Bulk Carriers)
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DFDS operate the Humber Express freight flow between Immingham and iPort Rail in Doncaster. They had a train fo thieir containers pulled by a pair of 20s for the press launch, but whether they appear on it in service I don't know.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
it was a container fest at Bletchley this morning. 3 trains in quick succession and I think one was being rescued - some entries not yet noted:
TEX
Hamburg Sud
TAL ( Leasing company?)
DAL (Deutsche Afrika-Linien)
There was also a blue one with a company starting with G that I couldn't make out as it was so bashed!
TEX
Hamburg Sud
TAL ( Leasing company?)
DAL (Deutsche Afrika-Linien)
There was also a blue one with a company starting with G that I couldn't make out as it was so bashed!
furnessvale
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GEFCO?
DarloRich
Veteran Member
possibly - it was really battered!
nineteenninety
Member
ITALIA?
Ash Bridge
Established Member
Agreed! Perhaps after this thread is completed the op could maybe consider an A-Z of historic brands not now seen on trains e.g. Freighliner, Manchester Liners, J Sainsburys etc. ?Brilliant thread topic!
You’ve already said it, but ONE are my “favourite”, if that’s possible, as they always seem to look immaculate!Presumably it’s just a new-ish brand and hence has fresher paintwork?!
If it was battered it was probably unlikely to be GEFCO, as they specialised in car transport containers (GEFCO no longer exists, having been merged into CEVA Logistics after being taken over by CMA CGM). Geest containers are blue as well.
Yes, ONE (Ocean Network Express) was formed as a joint venture of the three Japanese shipping companies NYK, MOL and K Line in 2017, so the three constituents' containers are gradually getting repainted into the new branding.You’ve already said it, but ONE are my “favourite”, if that’s possible, as they always seem to look immaculate!
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Shimbleshanks
Member
Gefco do or did have quite a sizeable trailer fleet and I believe they had a few containers and swapbodies in their fleet, so it's plausible. Racking my brains to think of any other current operators beginning with 'G'.
CL
DBS92042
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There were some GESeaco branded containers on those liners this morning so could have been those
DarloRich
Veteran Member
we might have a winner! I don't think the containers i saw have much life left in them. They were knocked about.
GE Seaco hasn't existed since the joint venture ended in 2011 when GE sold it to the Chinese conglomerate HNA (the same company later bought Cronos as well) and it was renamed Seaco Global (on the containers they just got rid of the 'GE' part of the logo). That means the boxes you saw were at least 15 years old, so probably right at the end of their life.
Jay are based in India, and Jin Jiang Shipping of Shanghai. There was also Japan Line (which eventually became part of MOL and now ONE) and JTSL (Japan Trans Siberian Line, now part of FESCO) which we understandably never see much of in the UK. There is a Chinese leasing company called Juntai, but they don't brand their containers.
For Q there was Quadrant Container Lines from South Africa (which seemingly went out of business in 1998), and there are quite a few Chinese leasing compaines that begin with Q, but they don't brand their containers either.
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Rhinojerry
Member
XPO Logistics ?
I've never seen one here in the UK but there are loads riding the rails in the USA. I think they are 53 footers so unlikely in International traffic.
Adrian Barr
Member
I found a website https://www.prefixlist.com/ that has a drop-down list of container prefixes in alphabetical order. It appears to be a US site but intended to have international coverage.
There are several companies with names or branding starting Q and J, but I don't recall seeing the containers in the UK.
A couple of other container websites:
A useful PDF explaining the container size / type codes (e.g. 45G1) https://www.bic-code.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/SizeAndType-Table1-3.pdf (part of the main https://www.bic-code.org/ website for "The International Register of Container Owner Codes.")
Container tracking website: https://www.track-trace.com/container
Enter a container number and it links through to various shipping websites for tracking information where available. Some companies (such as Maersk) allow you to enter a container number and see where it came from - for example I've entered a container number visible in a photo I've taken of a train, and you can see which port it sailed from to reach the UK, when it left and what vessel it was on.
The Marine Traffic website is also interesting for seeing where container ships are, with live maps: https://www.marinetraffic.com
There are several companies with names or branding starting Q and J, but I don't recall seeing the containers in the UK.
A couple of other container websites:
A useful PDF explaining the container size / type codes (e.g. 45G1) https://www.bic-code.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/SizeAndType-Table1-3.pdf (part of the main https://www.bic-code.org/ website for "The International Register of Container Owner Codes.")
Container tracking website: https://www.track-trace.com/container
Enter a container number and it links through to various shipping websites for tracking information where available. Some companies (such as Maersk) allow you to enter a container number and see where it came from - for example I've entered a container number visible in a photo I've taken of a train, and you can see which port it sailed from to reach the UK, when it left and what vessel it was on.
The Marine Traffic website is also interesting for seeing where container ships are, with live maps: https://www.marinetraffic.com
Thank you for the link to Prefix List, just had a look and found it interesting (I do have an interest in containers and shipping and have found this thread fascinating).
It seems like the best chance of a Q is a dark green UASC container with QIBU or QNNU as part of the container number. I also didn't realise that UASC are part of Hapag Lloyd.
There is also Qualitank based in Liverpool but they only seem to deal in used tank containers which may get re-registered as QTTU but they are only used for storage and not transport so unlikely to ride the rails.
It seems like the best chance of a Q is a dark green UASC container with QIBU or QNNU as part of the container number. I also didn't realise that UASC are part of Hapag Lloyd.
There is also Qualitank based in Liverpool but they only seem to deal in used tank containers which may get re-registered as QTTU but they are only used for storage and not transport so unlikely to ride the rails.
Brilliant work there. I envy the links you’ve provided! If I can get onto desktop soon I’ll try to do this for the full list.
I think the best hope we have of getting a Q (based on the other high scoring scrabble ‘letters’) is a Chinese venture. Thankfully they have a large footprint in global logistics!
Let’s hope we can track down a sole Q or J, and track it onto UK rails!
Not applicable to the subject of the thread, but possibly of interest to readers with an interest in the subject.....
Freely available in Japan are model containers, made of steel and remarkably detailed - dimensions 115mm x 50mm, 53mm high - cost ¥110 (about 60p) each! Tops come off so can be used for storage.
Here is a photo of some of them.....
Freely available in Japan are model containers, made of steel and remarkably detailed - dimensions 115mm x 50mm, 53mm high - cost ¥110 (about 60p) each! Tops come off so can be used for storage.
Here is a photo of some of them.....
The model containers are fabulous! Do they do 40ft versions too?
Very unlikely unless XPO get involved in domestic rail in the UK. They have no footprint in deep sea intermodal at all (which is the vast majority of UK container traffic).
Very unlikely unless XPO get involved in domestic rail in the UK. They have no footprint in deep sea intermodal at all (which is the vast majority of UK container traffic).
Just checked out Qualitank and, although promising, I can’t find evidence of any travelling by rail in the UK.. yet.
Japan has plenty of J’s it could give us.. JOT and JRF are others to keep an eye on!
I haven't seen any but who knows?!
What I have seen are smaller ones - perhaps 15ft equivalent. Japan uses a lot of smaller containers domestically - 10ft ones are common, both on trains and trucks.
Edit: Here is another photo, showing the smaller containers, and some other 20ft ones.....
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Probably why none of their domestic J containers have made it far overseas then!
Those are very cool!
Also available, here in the UK (assuming Instagram etc are targeting their ads correctly!), are container-themed pen holders and desk tidies. Which are also very cool!
DBS92042
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Had a quick look through some footage I've taken over the past few years and come up with following:
AMF CON, Eurotainer, EXSIF, Lloyd Triestino, Qube (in 4M94 consist Jul 2023), NOL, NOVELIS, SEAGO Line
For 'J', the only one I can find is the Jaguar Land Rover branded containers that used to appear on the Ditton-Dollands Moor aluminium trains
AMF CON, Eurotainer, EXSIF, Lloyd Triestino, Qube (in 4M94 consist Jul 2023), NOL, NOVELIS, SEAGO Line
For 'J', the only one I can find is the Jaguar Land Rover branded containers that used to appear on the Ditton-Dollands Moor aluminium trains
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themiller
Established Member
My go-to site for container reference is https://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part1/sea_containers1.htm
They have them on Temu (just about all the ads on social media are people selling temu/ali express things with a big mark-up), but still seemed quite expensive.Those are very cool!
Also available, here in the UK (assuming Instagram etc are targeting their ads correctly!), are container-themed pen holders and desk tidies. Which are also very cool!
satisnek
Member
Are there any MOL containers in the UK nowadays? I haven't seen my avatar for many years now.