Toll NQX has delivered five 129 tonne, 22-metre locomotives built in Maryborough, Queensland to Whyalla, South Australia on five separate 2,200 kilometre-long truck journeys spanning three states.
Toll NQX south Queensland development manager John Gunning said the trains had to be delivered to South Australia via truck due to the different rail gauges in the the transit states.
“Transporting heavy, oversize loads requires specialised equipment and often extensive planning with detailed strategies,” said Gunning. “In each case the bogies were removed to bring the overall travelling height down to less than five metres so we don’t interfere with overhead lines, and the wheels transported on two separate trailers.
“We built special steel frames so the trailer could receive the trains without the bogies on. That also gave us something to secure the locomotives to.”
The trains reached Whyalla within a week, with two 200 tonne cranes lifting the bogies from the trucks and onto the tracks, before the locomotive could be lowered onto the bogies. Every day for each journey, Toll NQX crews checked the trailer’s 98 wheels and tyres and ensured all restraints were secure.
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