A big, big load passed here today. Six prime movers, two low loader trailers (15 double wheels per side, each) and a flotilla of Police and private escort vehicles.
(http://www.australian-coins.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/Big_load_1.JPG)(http://www.australian-coins.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/Big_load_2.JPG)(http://www.australian-coins.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/Big_load_3.JPG)(http://www.australian-coins.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/Big_load_4.JPG)
WOW!!!!!
Only one truck (the one in front obviously) had a driver -I suspect they were hooked up similarly to multiple loco trains.
Not sure exactly what the load was but I suspect the heart of a drag line for one of the local coal mines. (Hush Fulvio; they do help the locally economy at present and it is not a simple balance on all the factors.)
P.S. I am a certificated solar Installer/Designer but that means virtually nothing since the Government subsidy schemes came in some years ago. Any 'cowboy' can do such work now and no overview on the effectiveness and safety of that work. That's why I don't take on new jobs but just look after previous customers.
WOW!
Mind if I steal those pics? Got a group on FB that would be fascinated, and might even come up with some answers.
Help yourself.
Come on Jeff we know it's your new jam making machine :mocking:
never seen anything like it
looks sinister
Quote from: 'ausjack' pid='104869' dateline='1486202157'Come on Jeff we know it's your new jam making machine :mocking:
:laugh2: ... Touché AJ ... do you think Jeff put a hint in the thread title? I'd imagine that it would make 'jam' out of any mobile traffic.
(I was actually lost for words for once, apart from WOW! I still sit in awe when I look at the pics).
Top photos by the way Jeff!!!
That's what I was thinking, you have to read between the lines sometimes ;) Yes it would draw attention that's for sure.
You lost for words, well I never :shock:
Yes excellent pic's Jeff :good:
Loads like this are not at all uncommon on the Great Northern hwy here in the West.
The giant mining equipment has to get to the various minesites somehow :)
It is not so bad passing one of these convoys although you do have to pull up a fair way Off the road.
Getting stuck behind one is a real pain in the bum though :dash1:
You can't overtake them until either you get the OK over the radio (if you have one) or if they pull up for a break..
I reckon it's a new nuclear reactor for Fulvio :angel:
Pedro
Quote from: 'JeffH' pid='104867' dateline='1486200051'Help yourself.
Ta :)
Quote from: 'Pedro' pid='104881' dateline='1486208246'I reckon it's a new nuclear reactor for Fulvio :angel:
Pedro
It's probably just one of the door hinges for his new vault :angel:
Quote from: 'Pedro' pid='104881' dateline='1486208246'I reckon it's a new nuclear reactor for Fulvio
Nah. NIMBY!
Quote from: 'trout' pid='104885' dateline='1486210135'It's probably just one of the door hinges for his new vault :angel:
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Apparently its a 200-ton transformer. The lads reckon it would have been heading to Comalco in Bundaberg. Was it heading that way?
Steve "Don't know whether you have driven the 2 lane Princes Hwy from Geelong to Portland but when we were building Portland Smelter we had 2 main Trannies 500,000 Volt down to 250,000 Volts which needed to be put in our Switchyard.
These Trannies weighed 400 tonnes dry each and Alcoa had to spend 3 years upgrading the road to take that weight prior to moving the trannies from the Geelong Wharf 300 Klms to Portland and it was as wide as both lanes which had to be totally closed, Pickfords did the job with 8 x 2000Hp Kenworths up front and 4 at rear, all with drivers and limited to 8 Kph because the dolly in the middle was 20 feet wide with 50 axles side by side or 100 axles all up and each set of axles had operators doing the turning of each set of 2 side by side axles.
THis was back in 1982 and the biggest load ever in Oz"
It was heading north and Bundaberg is (a long way) north of here. I would have thought such a load would go by sea.
Usually heavy loads here are going to one of the three local coal mines.
Quote from: 'JeffH' pid='104914' dateline='1486263906'I would have thought such a load would go by sea.
That crane that went to Brissy was 120 tonnes lifting capacity. No way would a minor port have 200-tonne capacity. I remember they made a big deal about Townsville being upgraded from 80 to 124 tonnes a while back.
Whups. Just realised I hadn't told that story here. My bad.
"Mate of mine was an escort for a crane move from Melbourne to Brisbane. It took them a week, and he showed me pictures of the escort vehicles parked under the overhang at their campsites. They had to remove signage at every bridge along 2-lane roads, it was that wide. He reckoned it was one of the most boring jobs ever, except getting through the middle of Shepparton in peak hour. They'd taken down the traffic lights for the night move, but the rig still couldn't make the required right turn, and then the traffic turned up while they were figuring it out."
Surely Brissie would have a 200+ tonne crane.
With weight like that no bloody wonder the roads in the bush are stuffed.
Just had a quick look and they have a 280T crane and that was just the first site I looked at
http://www.russelltpt.com.au/services_1?gclid=CMmIxN-M-NECFYSXvQodj7gABw&_rdr
Quote from: 'ausjack' pid='104921' dateline='1486268383'Just had a quick look and they have a 280T crane
Sure. Funny thing about shipping though.. you need facilities at BOTH ends of the journey. ;)
I wonder what the total weight of that road train was? All the trucks had a hefty load on, except the last one.
That might explain the large cloud of smoke from the vicinity of the last truck when they pulled up to let us past. I suspect it missed the cue to drop back to idle until it was repeated. We were too far back in the queue to see exactly where the smoke came from but spinning wheels could well explain it.
And definitely a transformer now I look at it. Too big for the local mines.
I should have picked that being an ex-engineer for an electricity distributor. :@ My excuse is that it is much larger than any I ever had to grapple with.
Hey Fulvio,
Do your informants have any photos (or maybe a link) for the Portland expedition. I would like to see that.
I seem to recall reading about something similar, years ago, for the aluminium plant in the vicinity of Gladstone.
Sincerely and hopefully,
Jeff
Quote from: 'Fulvio' pid='104927' dateline='1486274980'Quote from: 'ausjack' pid='104921' dateline='1486268383'Just had a quick look and they have a 280T crane
Sure. Funny thing about shipping though.. you need facilities at BOTH ends of the journey. ;)
I would have thought they'd get it in there as they have container ships go in there and maybe even coal ships. Apparently they can and have had a 8500TEU Vessels so it should handle it. The places that you lot in the big city think are small are growing rather quickly :angel:
Here ya go, suss out the little port of Brissie https://www.portbris.com.au/home
Some of the old one horse towns are now two..and some even have a cart :swoon: and some even have a town bike :shock: :mocking: So it's all going ahead all around oz :)
QuoteSome of the old one horse towns are now two..and some even have a cart
HeHe
Many people that live in our cities have absolutely NO idea what the rest of Australia really looks like Mate.
Seeing something on TV and actually being there are two completely different things :angel:
Quote from: 'ausjack' pid='104933' dateline='1486288230'I would have thought they'd get it in there as they have container ships go in there
Yeah, but containers weigh bugger all. 40 Tonnes, tops. Keep in mind they pick them up one at a time.
I suppose things like this weigh bugger all as well, yes maybe not as much as your transformer but they should be able to handle that sort of weight.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-11/gold-coast-light-rail-carriage-unloaded/4950136
Gee and the trams are coming from germany so surely we should be able to transport things in oz, well one would think.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-10/light-rails-plans-on-track-as-trams-arrive/4948260
Quote from: 'trout' pid='104946' dateline='1486299556'QuoteSome of the old one horse towns are now two..and some even have a cart
HeHe
Many people that live in our cities have absolutely NO idea what the rest of Australia really looks like Mate.
Seeing something on TV and actually being there are two completely different things :angel:
Yes it's a bit of a problem mate, if it doesn't happen in a major city it doesn't matter :dodgy:
Quote from: 'Fulvio' pid='104947' dateline='1486300294'Quote from: 'ausjack' pid='104933' dateline='1486288230'I would have thought they'd get it in there as they have container ships go in there
Yeah, but containers weigh bugger all. 40 Tonnes, tops. Keep in mind they pick them up one at a time.
For someone that is constantly looking at the net I would have thought you'd find it easy to find info on the port at brissie because me not being as capable as you didn't find it so hard and I bet there's a lot more on the net :dodgy:
http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/old-trains-make-tracks-and-head-to-south-africa/1993558/
Quote from: 'ausjack' pid='104951' dateline='1486327502'port at brissie
There's more to it than whether or not Brissy can unload a ship. It has to be loaded first, and we don't know where the load originated. And once unloaded, it has to be transported. Presumably up the M1. What would that do to traffic, just for starters?
The people that do these moves are experts in logistics. They analyse every possible option, and look at things like road width, weight limits, clearances, curve radius, grades, traffic, etc etc etc to find the best option.
For that 120-tonne crane to get to the port, they had to sit outside Brisbane for over half a day before the cops let them move through the city, and they had a very tight time window to get it done. That adds to costs, and if there's an option that avoids it, you can bet it will be considered.
Yes weight is what's stuffin up our roads but it doesn't seem to worry them so they should be charge heaps to use them. There are parts of the highway up here that they thought would last a long time but recently they had to rip it all up and do it again at great cost but that's mainly due to b doubles but it's the extra weight that causes the problem.
That road train is apparently carrying a transformer from the closed Wallerawang (near Lithgow) power station. Sighted yesterday at Denman allegedly heading for Liddell power station (near Muswellbrook).
Would have been a tight squeeze on the steel truss bridge over the Hunter River just outside Denman.
(http://www.ozroads.com.au/NSW/RouteNumbering/State%20Routes/84/034.JPG)
Someone posted a video clip on FaceBook and I would put it here but I have never been able to get BB code to embed a video to work on this forum.
Gee that poor little bridge. Lucky it didn't collapse under all that weight.
Heres a couple in-situ.. probably a bit smaller.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/556/32713380556_2173f0f164_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RQLCjG)20161010_152821 (https://flic.kr/p/RQLCjG)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/290/31911281584_c1dff42bd6_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QBTEf5)20161010_152816 (https://flic.kr/p/QBTEf5)
For what its worth stated lifting capacity can be a bit misleading.
This is a 80t lift but you cant get this done with a 80t crane. i think its 350t or 400t.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/484/32374303440_acfcab9eb7_z.jpg)
That last pic is pretty cool LC, makes the workers look small.
Quote from: 'JeffH' pid='104984' dateline='1486408207'Someone posted a video clip on FaceBook
Got a link?
Also, no dice (yet) on the Portland pics, but it was suggested the Geelong Advertiser took pics at the time.
QuoteGot a link?
Try finding something again on FB -so hard. I will have a look later.
Glad you liked it Fulvio.
You've seen the big load so how about something rather different courtesy of the NSW Police.
About 7:08am on 8th February 2017, a 27year old male was stopped driving a Toyota Camry towing a box trailer upon Carlisle Ave Mt Druitt by Mt Druitt Highway Patrol in relation to the load issue. The male was issued with number infringements including exceeding load mass limit and tow vehicle with load causing instability.
(http://www.australian-coins.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/loadfail2.jpg) (http://www.australian-coins.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/loadfail1.jpg)
That is hilarious but absolutely stupid.
Ingenious but ....
Pedro
thats crazy
Where there's a will, there's a way.
Unbelievable!
I'm not a fan of mobile tax collectors, but this one was richly deserved. :dodgy: