Canadian Railroads > Keep on Truckin'

The Brandt Truck made an appearance in Nova Scotia recently.  I was unaware of its trip down from Moncton until I heard something go past the Bedford Sub mile 30 detector with 14 axles.  That could be the TEST train (6-axle locomotive and two cars), but it was only going 21 mph.  The TEST train usually travels at track speed.  At that speed I was easily able to catch up to it around mile 24, and then stopped for the first image in Wellington.  The truck and cars are operated by a foreman, not a regular train crew, with a TOP from the RTC.  In fact, they seem to be experimenting with E-TOPs (electronic track occupany permits), because there was very little conversion between the RTC and foreman as he moved east on the Bedford Sub.

One of the conversations involved where he would get out of the way for the gypsum train (511) as it returned from the mine.  Kinsac siding was the spot, giving me a chance at the other side of the "train" at Windsor Jct. as he diverged onto the Dartmouth Sub.  The RTC seems to change all the signals to STOP as they would for a regular TOP, and the truck just ignores them, although the foreman does acknowledge them on the radio as he passes the control points.

Unlike regular MoW equipment, this one sails right through level crossings, and the truck is equipped with a 3-chime horn, which can be heard briefly at the start of the video clip.  The horn sequence is not the usual rule 14 (l) used by proper trains at crossings however.  Video was shot near mile 24 yesterday as the truck was returning to Moncton.  They went in the hole at Sandy Cove a few minutes after this to meet 120.  At 20 mph it must have been a long trip back home for the foreman. (It's roughly 185 miles from Dartmouth to Moncton.)

GTD

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The hood ornament appears to be a flying pig, an after market accesory available at some truck stops.

Looks like the inside tires drive this beast.  Are all 3 axles driven? Or are there dummies in the mix?
 

Appears to be a tri-drive. In certain industrial applications, especially logging and construction, tri-drives are becoming quite common in much of Canada. Our highway weights are based on axle groups, and we don't have an equivalent of the US "bridge laws" As such, pusher, or tag axles, (dummy axles on a tractor, or additional trailer axles) aren't used. Some trucks in Ontario and out west that run to the US regularly have them, but they can't be used on this side of the line.

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Darren Boes
Lethbridge, AB
Southern Alberta Railfan

pt199 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Looks like the inside tires drive this beast.
>  Are all 3 axles driven? Or are there dummies in
> the mix?
>

Looks to me like it is a tandem, with a third "lift" axle. The tires on the two rear axles are larger than on the third axle, which usually indicates the third is a lift axle, only lowered when hauling a load.
But at the same time, I am not disagreeing with Darren's comment. It is just that the tri-drive trucks are quite rare in eastern Canada, compared to the west.

  

Will MacKenzie
Dundas, ON

I couldn't tell if all three rear axles are powered or not, although it appears that the rubber tires provide the traction when on the rails.  The rearmost tires seem to have more tread than the others, if that is significant.

I've never seen a load on the deck of these things, so I assume it's just ballasted to get enough tractive effort to haul some cars around.  If so, it would weigh the same all the time.  For what it's worth, the truck as Manitoba plates, so may follow western practice for that reason.  Around here, large straight trucks have gone to 4 axles, but the front two are both steering axles.  These are popular with heavy dump trucks and cement mixers, partly because they can be driven by anybody with a Class 3 license (over 13,500 KG), rather than a tractor/trailer (Class 1).

GTD



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/19 17:55 by cn6218.

thehighwayman Wrote:
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> Looks to me like it is a tandem, with a third
> "lift" axle.

The first generation Western Stars have a tag axle.  Second and third generation Peterbilts and, now, fourth generation Freightliners are all tridem.  On rail, all drive axles are locked together.

The "load" is usually a platform used to raise the backhoe onto the cars or to remove it.


Michael

cn6218 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I couldn't tell if all three rear axles are
> powered or not, although it appears that the
> rubber tires provide the traction when on the
> rails.  The rearmost tires seem to have more
> tread than the others, if that is significant.
>
> I've never seen a load on the deck of these
> things, so I assume it's just ballasted to get
> enough tractive effort to haul some cars around. 
> If so, it would weigh the same all the time.  For
> what it's worth, the truck as Manitoba plates, so
> may follow western practice for that reason. 
> Around here, large straight trucks have gone to 4
> axles, but the front two are both steering
> axles.  These are popular with heavy dump trucks
> and cement mixers, partly because they can be
> driven by anybody with a Class 3 license (over
> 13,500 KG), rather than a tractor/trailer (Class
> 1).
>
> GTD



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/19 09:44 by emd_mrs1.