History
The old road train
is made up of traction engines pulling multiple wagons. In the Crimean War, a
traction engine was used to pull multiple open trucks. By 1898 steam traction
engine trains with up to four wagons were utilized in military maneuvers in
England. In the 1900s John Fowler & Co. offered armored road trains for use
by the British forces in the Second Boer War. In the 140s The Government of
South Australia run a fleet of AEC 8x8 military trucks to transport freight and
supplies into the Northern Territory replacing the Afghan camel trains that had
been trekking through the deserts since the late 19th century. Kurt
Johnson is known as the Australian inventor of modern road train. His first
road train comprised of a U. S. Army World War II surplus diamond-T tank
carrier and two home-built self- tracking trailers. Both wheels sets on each
trailer could drive and could negotiate the tight and narrow tracks and creek
crossings that existed throughout Central Australia. Freight trailers in
Australia viewed this enhanced invention and went on to build self-tracking
trailers for Kurt and other customers.
The largest and
heaviest road-legal vehicles in the world are found in Australia with some
configurations topping out at close to 200 tons. The majority are between 80
and 120 tons. Doubles also called
two-trailers are road train combinations which are permitted in most areas in
Australia within the environs of Adelaide, South Australia and Perth, Western
Australia. A double road train should not be confused with a B-double which is given
access to most of the country and in all major cities. Triple or the three
trailer road trains operate in western New South Wales, Western Queensland,
South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Road trains are
not allowed in Tasmania and Victoria. Road trains are used for transporting all
material such as livestock, fuel, mineral ores and general freight.
The multiple
dog-trailers are detached, the dolly removed and the connected individually to
multiple trucks at assembly yards when the road train gets close to populated
area. The flat-top trailers of a road train need to be transported empty, it is
customary practice to stack them. This is generally referred to as “double-up
or doubling-up”. In the United State, trucks on public roads are limited to two
trailers (two 28 ft. and a dolly to connect). The limit is 63 feet end to end.
Some states allow three trailers, though triples are usually restricted to less
populated areas. Triples are used for long distance less than truckload freight
hauling or resource hauling in the interior west. Triples are sometimes marked
with “LONG LOAD” banners both front and rear. Turnpikes doubles are tractors
towing two full-length trailers are allowed on the New York Thruway and
Massachusetts Turnpike as well as the Ohio and Indiana toll roads. The term
road train is nor usually used in the US.
Learn more about Heavy Hauling and see Edwards company that specializes in this kind of industry.
