Tacoma adds two straddle carriers - container movers will be used at the North Intermodal Rail Yard; Finnish manufacturers to open parts center in the city to service them - Brief Article

Railway Age, Sept, 1992

The Port of Tacoma now has a fleet of 34 eight-wheeled straddle carriers for handling containers at the North Intermodal Rail Yard. Two new straddle carriers were delivered last month by Valmet of Finland, which is establishing an office and parts inventory center in Tacoma in recognition of the port's heavy reliance on its equipment.

Driven by longshore workers, the machines can move containers directly on or off railcars. They can stack containers up to three high in staging areas.

With development of its dockside North Intermodal Yard in the 1980s, Tacoma became one of the first ports to use straddle carriers to move containers directly between ship and rail. North Intermodal Yard has now grown to eight on-dock tracks.

Scheduled to open this fall, Valmet's Tacoma office will also serve other West Coast ports using the Finnish machines.