Nyrath patreon

Beta and Higher Patron Notice for 11/08/2019

🕑 Added 2019-11-09 01:08:33 +0000 UTC

Comments

Nyrath

I had not noticed that, but you have a good point. Great catch!

Rob

Thoughts on the Cargo Containers from from the Tales of the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell and inspired by all that art. Note how many of those ships, in spite of all being inspired by ISO shipping containers, look like they have slightly different container types from each other. Obviously, different authors causing different derivatives from the same inspiration is at the root here, but _sometimes_ multiple containers can exist in the same setting. In Lowell's work, we see at least three container standards, apparently all with large enough user bases that the containers are available, loaded on spec, to the first available ship headed into the Deep Dark at CPJCT-operated ports. The Lois McKendrick uses one type, triangular containers that slot against the ship's spine. Barbells, of which we see several in the series, carry a single large container under their spine between their forward crew areas and aft propulsion segment, making up not only their only cargo load but also a portion of the ship's rigidity--Barbells can't go anywhere without a container bracing them, and the containers are somewhat implied to be unique to the type. While both the trustworthy _Lois_ and the Barbell design have forward crew sections and aft propulsion sections connected by a spine, Ish's first command the Agamemmnon is yet a third type, operating as a "tractor" that can tow up to three of another type of container, chained together in a "cargo train". Apparently traffic in CPJCT ports makes it possible for any of these three types of ship to sail into port and lock down a cargo of the proper one of these three types of containers (each optimized for a specific layout of ship if not potentially a single _class_ of ship). I can't help wondering if someone out there on CPJCT stations isn't making bank using dedicated facilities to rapidly "break bulk" on one type of container and repack it into another to match inbound traffic available for contract... This may not be totally unbelievable, though. In real life, I think semi trailers all use pretty much the same attachments (at least by nation?) but their standards are slightly different from ISO containers (of course, ISO containers don't have wheels). Back in the day, different rail companies AIUI often had different coupler types, meaning that two rail companies couldn't simply hook together their rolling stock without an adaptor even if they shared rail and loading gauge for the rail cars. However, most interesting is air freight, which has like the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper features relatively few designs for freighters with apparently each design or its derivatives making up a substantial portion of the fleet. this is enough that customized shapes of containers exist for upper and lower cargo decks in air freight and for different planes. This site, by my count, lists about a dozen different container types: https://www.shapiro.com/resources/air-freight-container-specifications/ However, I can't help thinking that a given setting is probably best served by a consistent presence of just one or two specialized classes of containers.