transtainer

English

Etymology 1

Blend of transporter +‎ container

Noun

transtainer (plural transtainers)

1. (aerospace, historical) A specialized container used to transport and protect large guided missiles.
   • 1957, Flight International, volume 72, page 906:

     Transtainers (transporter-containers) for SM-68 [Titan ICBM] are of novel design, with a structure of aluminium alloy.

   • 1959, Western Aerospace, volume 39, page 20:

     In the factory, each stage of the missile is placed on an individual transtainer — or missile trailer. From this point on, transtainers will carry the missile stages wherever they go.

   • 1961 June 23, United States Interstate Commerce Commission, “Dealers Transit, Inc., Extension—Missiles”, in Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Motor carrier cases, published 1965, page 331:

     Because the Atlas must be substantially complete when transported (the nose cones originate and usually are transported from another point to Cape Canaveral, and in some instances the guidance system is separate from the body of the missile in transit) and because it must be retained under pressure until fueled, a specially constructed trailer, called a transtainer, is necessary for the over-the-road movement.

   • 1963 March, Shock, Vibration and Associated Environments:

     The orifice controlled the flow of oil during strut retraction and extension, which in turn determined the load factor in the transtainer and missile.

Etymology 2

Blend of trans- +‎ container; coined by the Pacific Coast Engineering Company (now Paceco) as a brand name.

Noun

transtainer (plural transtainers)

1. A mobile gantry crane used for stacking intermodal containers within the stacking areas of a container terminal.
   • 1987, Ernst G. Frankel, Port Planning and Development, page 197:

     The transtainers (system A) are all assumed to have a 62ft span and to straddle a five wide stack.

   • 1993, M Ahmad, Flexible Automation and Integrated Manufacturing 1993, page 300:

     Other parameters, such as the number of transtainers and portainers, have been found to be of secondary influence.

   • 2013, Khalid Bichou, Risk Management in Port Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Security:

     Containers are then removed from the train by a transtainer and placed on truck chassis attached to a tractor and hauled to container storage areas or ship departure areas.

Related terms

• portainer