Containers
Most shipping is done using an 8-foot-wide, 8-foot-tall, 18-foot-long wooden box that can be opened along any side. The Wyrlde measures are based on the interior, which has to be slightly more than 2 yards wide, and slightly more than 5 yards deep (Wyrlde Standards). A container is capable of supporting up to 1 Ton (2152.9 lb. US), and is designed to hold ten Crates, which is a standard size shipping unit roughly one Yard in all dimensions (Wyrlde yard: 39 inches). Crates are stacked five deep and two high and are the defacto unit of trade for bulk goods, although a crate will often contain smaller units.
Containers are fitted with removable wheels that store in slots along the outer walls. These wheels are usually made of metal reinforced wood, with free axles built into the base. There are six wheels for each, around four feet in diameter, strongly built. The containers all have struts that are raised or lowered using a ratchet system built into the walls, allowing them to be set in place by a team of four to six people quickly, and allowing the wheels to be used on either ends or sides, depending on which direction they want to move the container.
There are designs for this box that vary according to what is going into one (including designs for a double stateroom for passenger craft such as cutters), but the dimensions do not change. Containers are built with ballast to help them float should they be lost at sea, but this is not always a certainty. Each major merchant has a seal they use to secure their own goods, and the Guilds are very particular about ensuring cargo is moved readily and easily and traceable.
The story goes that containers have been used for as long as there have been people – and vehicles are designed around them, including Water, Air, and Land vehicles.
Ramps are used in all ports for moving them around, often little more than large platforms that rest on two wheels on a free axle. Skyships typically carry them in slings and moorings beneath the ship, Sailing craft and riverboats on the broad decks, and the Train is little more than a conveyance for them supported and hauled along by the Enjin.
The use of and ownership of Containers is limited to Guild members, especially and primarily of the Merchant’s guild. Merchants and Traders make extensive use of them and prefer that the rabble not get their hands on them.
