Railroad Grain Truck Runs On Road Or Rail

Railroad Grain Truck Runs On Road Or Rail MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 15-2-3 Showgoers at the Spokane Ag Expo in Spokane, Wash., recently got a close look at a new 25-ton, $300,000 truck with a split personality - it's the only rig in the world that rides the rails as readily as it rolls down the road. The "Road-Railer" is a modified Ken-worth semi tractor fitted with three extra axles and six railroad wheels so it can do double duty on railroad tracks. One minute it's a truck, the next it's a locomotive, pulling up to 14 loaded railroad hopper cars at speeds up to 25 mph. Each car holds 3,000 bu. weighing up to 90 tons. Southern Rails, a cooperative of local wheat farmers who got together when facing local rail abandonments, runs the "Road-Railer". The cooperative bought two abandoned rail branch lines from a pair of Canadian railway companies. One line is 21 miles long and the other line 25 miles long. The two lines are part of more than 3,500 miles of low density branch lines in Saskatchewan considered uneconomical for conventional rail service. The cooperative has the authority to operate each line and uses the "Road-Railer" to pull hopper cars to storage facilities at the end of each line. Once the cars are dropped, the "Road-Railer" is converted into a truck and driven on the highway 90 miles away to the other rail line where another group of railroad cars wait. A system combining hydraulics and air pressure engages and disengages separate wheel systems as necessary. "We've had a lot of interest in the project in Canada and have even hosted delegations from as far away as Russia," says Melvin Ellis, general manager, Southern Rails Cooperative. "People driving on the high-way can't believe it when they see a truck pulling railroad cars. Most drivers come to a complete stop, and many take pictures." According to Ellis, the cost of operating the Road-Railer is about one-third that of conventional railway service using two separate locomotives to pull the cars. "It's also much less expensive than using only trucks to move grain. Less truck traffic also reduces road maintenance costs. That's why the Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation is a partner in our project. They'll assess the economic and technical aspects over the next three years. If successful, the technology could provide a future for much of the low density branch line system in both Canada and the U.S." The rig is equipped with its original 444 hp Cummins diesel engine coupled to an Eaton Ceemat hydraulic-automatic trans-mission. A Spicer model 784 gearbox is used to split the power into two separate drivelines, each of which can be operated independently for either highway or rail operation. The rig is fitted with railway couplers on both ends to facilitate switching operations in yards and sidings. It can mount rails at any level crossing. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Melvin Ellis, Southern Rails Cooperative Ltd., P.O. Box 188, Rockglen, Saskatchewan, Canada SOH 3R0 (ph 306 476-2615).

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