Page 36 - Port of Hamburg Magazine - 03.18

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| Port of Hamburg Magazine | September 2018
© Office for Port & Waterways Engineering
Block container train ‘Delphin’ on her first assignment in 1968
Containers take over the rail tracks
Just 50 years ago, with the ‘American Lancer’, the first dedicated
containership called Burchardkai in the Port of Hamburg. The first
block container train also slid into the novel container terminal, unique at that time. These contain- ers heralded a new era in the port, since the invention of the colourful steel boxes fundamentally changed both cargo handling and onward freight transport inland. From then on, direct block con- tainer trains moved the standardized boxes. In 1968, the ‘Delphin’ was the first German container train to appear at a container terminal. ‘Direct’ container train really meant that the entire train sim- ply ran from a starting station to a final destination. The ‘Delphin’ was hauled at the time by one of German Rail’s V200 engines, one of the early mainline diesel locomotives. Today the Burchardkai rail terminal can clear container trains up to 740 metres long. The Port of Hamburg’s top-scoring container terminal for throughput daily loads and discharges several hundred railcars.
Peter flies in to events
Several times a year, Port of Hamburg Marketing’s two event con- tainers move to and fro in Europe. Peter flies in with them. Their program includes customer events at terminals, port parties and other major functions. The boxes are a real eye-catcher and prove a magnet for many visitors. They provide information on the Port of Hamburg and job offers there, or see that visitors are properly fed and watered – whatever the event. In action at the Port Stroll in Dortmund, for example, the foremost topic was the port partner- ship between Hamburg and Dortmund. For Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia is the second most important German state
for seaport-hinterland transport, with transport volume at around 500,000 containers per year. Dortmund transport and logistics companies showcased in the 40-ft container, showing visitors the exciting training and career opportunities in the sector. Its little brother, the 20-ft container, housed the special exhibition ‘50 Years of Container Handling in Hamburg’. This brought home to visitors the immense importance of these strik-
ing steel boxes for their everyday lives.
German Unity Day in Berlin, such Hamburg parties as the Port Birthday, and other public events, all fea- ture in the movements schedule for the event containers. Member companies of the Port of Hamburg Marketing Association members are able to rent the containers for their own functions.
© HHM