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IDEAL X
Ideal X
was a historic ship that was converted from a T2 oil tanker. She was the first
to hold large shipping
containers which eventually became the standard for
transoceanic transport of goods.
On April
26th, 1956, Ideal-X left the Port of Newark, New
Jersey, to the Port Houston, Texas. Ideal X also
carried 58 containers that were 35-feet long, 8-feet
wide by 8-feet high. The containers were loaded on board
the ship in less than eight hours.
The containers were
35-feet long because that was the standard truck size in
the United States at that time. There
were very few highways and the turn radius on standard
roads did not allow for longer trailers.
Ideal X
was created under the initiative of Malcolm McLean, a
trucking magnate who saw the tremendous potential of
containerization. In 1937, while delivering cotton bales
from North Carolina to New York Harbor, McLean was
forced to wait several days while longshoremen manually
loaded the cargo. McLean calculated that loading a
medium-sized ship the conventional way was costing $5.83
a ton. Comparatively, loading containers would cost less
than $0.16 a ton. The economic advantages of such a mode
of transportation became clear to the shipping industry.
In 1960,
McLean founded SeaLand. McLean’s involvement in the
realm of container ships did not stop there. In the late
1970s he bought United State Lines which operated one of
largest fleets of container ships participating in
global commerce with each ship able to hold almost 4,500
container units. McLean is considered the father of
containerization that makes transoceanic trade what it
is today.
The Ideal
X carried containers until 1964 when it was scrapped.
This
primarily wood
Ideal X
container ship model
is
30" long x 9" tall x 5.5" wide (1/200 scale)
$3,550 
Shipping
and insurance in the contiguous USA included. Other
places: $300 flat rate.
This model is in stock and can be
shipped within five business days. Please note
that the brass plaque is $60 extra and will be sent
later.
For other
sizes, email us for a quote.
Learn more about the
Ideal X here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Ideal_X
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