As usual, I’m off thread, sorry!
We used to get a trainload of empty 20’ Behring containers from Riyadh maybe once a month. Behring (Caravan’s American partner) had the contract with the Saudi military for delivery of ammunition and other military spares from the U.S. Of A. This took the form of about 50 containers of god knows what, which had been sent on the railway directly from Dammam port to Riyadh and then returned empty on the train to Dammam. We would get the word that there was a train in and would at first hire and later take our own crane the few hundred yards from our base to unload them from the train to the yard, where we would unload them with the fork lift.
Behring bought end of life 20’s, usually ribbed aluminium containers, some absolutely falling to bits. They were being replaced in the states with steel ones. They then sprayed them grey, with ’ BEHRING’ on and shipped them. We took them back to our yard.
In the photo, Merlin is riding on the 4 hooks for each corner. We would have the crane pick us up on the hooks and take us to the container, spread the hooks, ride the container to the truck, unhook and ride to the next one.
This was frightening at first, then fun and finally boring! Only getting exciting when the crane driver (no specialist, just one of us, in this particular case an Irish lad who’s name I forget, got talking to someone and didn’t realise he’d left the lift in gear. Despite my screaming he didn’t hear me, and only realised there was a problem when I was some 60’ in the air and the engine stalled as the pulley had crashed into the top of the jib!)
At this point in time, the transport manager had the job of selling them. Originally this was Peter Best. When Joe from Simon International was in charge, the containers hadn’t started.
When I took over from Peter as transport manager, this was the job I dreaded most. I didn’t have a problem with arranging the traffic, but selling containers to Arabs worried me!
Actually, I loved it! I quickly learned enough Arabic to converse fluently with them - although to be fair, I couldn’t follow the news on TV, too quick!
They were great to talk to and to barter with. I had a base price of 1,800 Riyals, about £300.00. They never gave up! I would start at about 2,500 and usually finished up at 2,000. I was above my base price and they were pleased at getting a bargain!
This made a fortune for Behring/Caravan as well as the transport, which although the rates came down from the early unbelievable highs, still remained viable when I left in 1987.
Apologies for stealing your thread, Robert’s comment brought it all back!
John