![]() In South Australia, B-triples up to 35.0 metres (114 ft 10 in) and two-trailer road trains to 36.5 metres (119 ft 9 in) were only permitted to travel on a small number of approved routes in the north and west of the state, including access to Adelaide's north-western suburban industrial and export areas such as Port Adelaide, Gillman and Outer Harbour via Salisbury Highway, Port Wakefield Road and Augusta Highway before 2017. A double road train should not be confused with a B-double, which is allowed access to most of the country and in all major cities. ĭouble (two-trailer) road train combinations are allowed on some roads in most states of Australia, including specified approaches to the ports and industrial areas of Adelaide, South Australia and Perth, Western Australia. They transport freight across some of the harshest environments on Earth. Australia has the longest and heaviest road-legal road trains in the world, weighing up to 200 tonnes (197 long tons 220 short tons). In contrast with a more common semi-trailer towing one trailer or semi-trailer, the prime mover of a road train hauls two or more trailers or semi-trailers. The term road train is used in Australia. ![]() This first example of the modern road train, along with the AEC Government Roadtrain, forms part of the huge collection at the National Road Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, Northern Territory.Ī four-trailer road train in the Australian outback with a Volvo NH15 prime mover Freighter Trailers in Australia viewed this improved invention and went on to build self-tracking trailers for Kurt and other customers, and went on to become innovators in transport machinery for Australia. Both wheel sets on each trailer could steer, and therefore could negotiate the tight and narrow tracks and creek crossings that existed throughout Central Australia in the earlier part of the 20th century. Johannsen's first road train consisted of a United States Army World War II surplus Diamond-T tank carrier, nicknamed "Bertha", and two home-built self-tracking trailers. Two years later his first road train was running. Provided with financing of about 2000 pounds and inspired by the tracking abilities of the Government roadtrain, Johannsen began construction. After transporting stud bulls 200 mi (320 km) to an outback property, Johannsen was challenged to build a truck to carry 100 head of cattle instead of the original load of 20. At 130 hp (97 kW), the AEC was grossly underpowered by today's standards, and drivers and offsiders (a partner or assistant) routinely froze in winter and sweltered in summer due to the truck's open cab design and the position of the engine radiator, with its 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) cooling fan, behind the seats.Īustralian Kurt Johannsen, a bush mechanic, is recognised as the inventor of the modern road train. This truck pulled two or three 6 m (19 ft 8 in) Dyson four-axle self-tracking trailers. In the 1930s/40s, the government of Australia operated an AEC Roadtrain 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. Four of these vehicles were successfully delivered to Queensland, Australia, before the company ceased production upon the start of World War I. After his death, Daimler, which had acquired the rights, attempted to market it in the United Kingdom. Ī road train devised by Captain Charles Renard of the French Engineering Corps was displayed at the 1903 Paris Salon. Lord Kitchener stated that he had around 45 steam road trains at his disposal. provided armoured road trains for use by the British Armed Forces in the Second Boer War. By 1898 steam traction engine trains with up to four wagons were employed in military manoeuvres in England. ![]() They displaced bullock teams for the carriage of minerals to port and were, in turn, superseded by railways.ĭuring the Crimean War, a traction engine was used to pull multiple open trucks. The first identified road trains operated into South Australia's Flinders Ranges from the Port Augusta area in the mid-19th century. History Įarly road trains consisted of traction engines pulling multiple wagons. It consists of two or more trailers or semi-trailers hauled by a prime mover. A three-trailer livestock road train in AustraliaĪ road train, land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a trucking vehicle used to move road freight more efficiently than semi-trailer trucks.
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