Re: Rail/Road trailers

["< Tell >" <telljbAS@ozemail.com.au>]

"Rod Gayford" <rjaygee@eisa.net.au> wrote:
>
> I believe the trailers are not much different to those uses exclusively on
> the road.  The main buffing forces are taken up by the lead bogie unit which
> contains the coupler etc.  The units can only be used to trail locomotives
> or other rolling stock. I understand their use over the Blue Mountains in
> NSW were delayed by State Rail concerns that they could not be assisted from
> the rear if a loco broke down in the montain areas.  The great advantage of
> trailer rail is that they are light yet can be hauled by rail easily.
> Earlier ideas had swing down rail wheels as well as road wheels, but these
> units were very heavy and lost a lot of road carrying capacity.  These units
> were used in the UK and USA during the 60's.  Trailer Rail is used
> extensively in the USA with the refrigerated units winning a lot of fresh
> fruit traffic back from trucks for the BNSF etc.


AN could not sell the concept up here in the Territory
because the road train operators have trailers that are
very much customised for NT road train use, including
extra spare tyre racks, rope boxes and on some, extra
fuel tanks.  Keep in mind that the Alice Springs rail
head is 1500 Kms away from Darwin.

Containers are quickly and easily transferred and this
was and still is the preferred method, thats why AN
pioneered double stack in OZ and it was furthered by
National Rail Corp.

The RoadRailer concept was the answer to the truckie
ridden Hume highway, but guess who bounced the idea?.  
New South Wales railways will do, a system orientated
on political passenger trains at huge losses to NSW tax
payers and the Australian transport system in general.

----Tell
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