Big Lift

When a "three-pack" double stack container car derailed last evening in the north end of Halifax, CN brought in some heavy equipment (and a lot of smaller gear) to set things right:

First order of business was to move another half dozen cars that had not derailed. To do this, since the track was blocked for locomotives, they called in this monster Cat 980M from Dexter/Municipal Contracting. It was last seen doing snow clearing in Halifax this winter, but it is not normally allowed on the streets due to its size.

The Cat was brought in by this Western Star from Dexter's large fleet.

This locally based Freightliner hi-railer (CN 176403) was on the scene early on.

Overnight this CN hi-rail crane truck arrived from Moncton. Its truly impressive crane boom was not enough to lift the loaded cars.[see post script]

Early this morning, before the fog lifted, this Faun Tadano 200 tonner arrived. It is seen here detaching its dolly, which it is required to tow on public roads, to distribute its weight.

Once it had been moved closer to the derailment, it loaded its two ballast units from the accompanying vehicle, a veteran Sterling (that has been on these pages before, when it belonged to Partners Crane rentals, a company taken over by A.W.Leil.)

Once in position, the two cranes made short work of lifting the cars and getting them on the track

The cars were then towed clear by the Cat, so the track could be repaired. 

A number of miscellaneous CN vehicles were also on scene, several of then hi-railers:

GMC Yukon hi-railer. 

Several Fords,

and some more Fords.

For those who need to know, the string of cars was being hauled out of the HIT Terminal by yard engines 9410 and 9486, both GMD GP40s.

Post Script

If the mighty Peterbilt crane looks vaguely familiar, it has been shown here before, but in its previous "life".

Originally built as a Brute 150, it was recently rebuilt in the US and given a Peterbilt cab, but underneath all that it is still a Brute 150.

http://truckfax.blogspot.ca/2010/06/is-it-truck-is-it-train.html

Since it was rebuilt it has been given a new number: CN074778.

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Star hauler

A Mills Heavy Hauling Western Star had another imported log forwarder today. This one is a Rottne F15c from Sweden. http://www.rottne.com/en/

 

The F15c is an off road model, which according to the literature can be fitted with tracks on its tires.
http://www.rottne.com/en/skogsmaskin/f15/

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Fresh off the Boat - REVISED

More RVs keep rolling in. I have missed several I know, but I did manage to catch some more today such as these:

Renault with Delfin RV body.

Hymermobile - B 604 SL model 

Monster MAN with pop top body and pup trailer.

Late Catch:

I caught this one later in the day. A bit of a rarity- carrying GB plates, but a Merc:

 

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Krupps head out

Three Krupp cranes appeared by rail in Halifax, with an overseas destination. All three are 80 tonne capacity all-terrain types, and appear to be model 70GMT-AT. They have three drive axles, the second axle is steering only.

Although the former owners' markings have been painted over, they were obviously part of the large Quebec crane rental specialists Guay Inc.. They are painted red, and they still carry fleet numbers that are typical of Guay units: 80-13, 80-15, and 80-21. See http://gruesguay.com/


Krupp cranes were built in Wilhelmshaven, Germany by the giant steel manufacturing empire of  Friederick Krupp. Krupp ran into troubles, and merged with Thyssen in 1999, but before that it sold off many of its subsidiaries.
The crane business was picked up by Grove in 1995 (but not the Krupp name), as part of an expansion which had included buying National Crane Corp in 1978 and Coles in 1983. Grove itself got into financial difficulties in 2001 and  was acquired by Manitowoc.

The Grove division still builds cranes at the Wilhlemsahaven factory in Germany, under the Grove brand, and we often see new models arriving in Halifax by ship. 
 
Guay's website shows a similar unit, although it is painted white in the brochure.

 http://gruesguay.com/Charte/Toutterrain2011/80T-70GMT-AT.pdf, 

On Wednsday evening May 27 I caught the last of the three units, 80-21, loading on board the Saudi Arabian ship Saudi Hofuf. Although the ship does stop in other ports to and from Saudii Arabia, it rarely carries any cargo not actually destined for  Saudi.

Unit 80-21 was the only one of the three with a black ballast weight, the other two carried red. Also on board the ship was a white Terex, loaded in Halifax too.

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Kenworths take the big loads

Two more Watson trucks appeared today for aircraft components, but this time it was a Freightliner COE and a Kenworth. The latter is obviously intended for some of Watson's heavier loads, so would not be challenged by the weight of its cargo on this trip - a tail piece was in a frame that created quite an overhang on the curb side.

This big KW (fleet number W3879) was built for heavier loads than this aircraft tail section.

The Freightliner COE, number W5867 has been here before and shown in these pages last year.

Another Kenworth farther along is operated by Five Star Specialized Carriers of Quispamsis, NB (near Saint John) with a Grove hydraulic crane aboard. The blue Freightliner in the background carries the jib for the crane.

 

 It takes a tridem tractor and four axle trailer to haul this 90 tonne capacity crane.

 
And as a follow up to yesterday's post on the International from Rondeau - it did not load aircraft components, but a pair of used Case wheel loaders from Holland. One unit still carries the name of Rudi Van De Sluis of Lewedorp.

Beside it is another International from Quebec, running for USA 2000.

Checking the US DoT number reveals that the truck is indeed running for Transport Michel Rondeau Inc of Lanoraie, QC, located in the heart of farming country between Montreal and Trois-Rivières.

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Watson Freightliner COEs are back

The Montreal specialist Transport Watson is known for its custom built Freightliner COEs, and last year we saw rigs numbered W5867, W5868 and W5870, making numerous trips to load Bombardier aircraft components that arrive in Halifax by ship.
Another one of that series W5866 appeared this evening and was accompanied by a newer and bigger version with fleet number W6883.

New rig W6883 on the left has the big chrome grille and fairings around the tanks and sleeper.

W5866 on the right is typical of the units seen here over the past year.

Step deck trailer will accommodate an aircraft component carried aboard the ship Atlantic Compass, seen in the background. The cab also has a larger sleeper.

Minutes after I took the first photos a big Rondeau International Eagle arrived effectively blocking the view. Hauling a step deck trailer too, it will likely be loading an aircraft component too.

There are two trucking companies with the name Rondeau: Transport Martin Rondeau, of St-Felix-de-Valois, QC and Transport Michel Rondeau of Lanoraie, QC. The truck carries the dealer's name on its exhaust guard: Gamache Truck Centre a large dealer with an International franchise, and a used truck business in Canada and the US.

As soon as the cargo is cleared from the Fairview Cove terminal the trucks will be loaded and on the road.

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More Euro campers

The flood of European RVs continues, with some variety.

This little Fiat, with Hymer Classic camper body carries a Netherlands plate.

Hymer is the largest RV company in Europe and has also grown through the acquisition of other RV manufacturers and a sporting goods company.

Not only does the company have its own web site:
http://www.hymer.com/en/

It also has its own impressive museum:
http://www.erwin-hymer-museum.de/en/visitors-information.html

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Western Stars haul log forwarders

A pair of Western Stars headed out from Halifax May 21 each carrying a log forwarder truck imported from Europe.
The Stars are running for Transport D. Dumais et Fils of Dolbeau-Mistassini, in northern Quebec where there is still a lot of tree harvesting going on despite the state of the paper making industry.

 The lead Western Star #36 had a drop axle, not in use.

The second truck, #47, was using a dolly with its trailer. It was carrying a Komatsu.

Unfortunately things were moving too quickly for me to get any more particulars on the log forwarders.

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Flashback to Airstream

Not all motor homes are inbound from Europe!

Some are outbound, including these two classic Airstreams, seen on the evening of May 21 waiting to enter the Fairview Cove terminal the next morning. The smaller one appears to be a 24 foot Argosy from the mid 1970s and the larger one is a model 310, 31 footer from the early 1980s.

 
Both are in original condition, and driveable, but appear to be headed for restoration by collectors. (They are currently wearing Quebec plates.)

There are lots of references online to these unique vehicles, built on GMC or Chev chassis with Chev 454 engines.


http://www.airstreamclassifieds.com/ads/1984-airstream-310-kentucky/

http://www.viewrvs.com/motorhome/argosy/argosy-24.php

http://www.viewrvs.com/motorhome/airstream/airstream-310.php

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Herring Tankers - updated

Among the more unusual cargoes travelling Atlantic Canada's highways is herring. During the fishing season,the small fish are pumped from fishing boats directly into tank trailers and trucked away to fish plants.

Kenworth with set-back axle, is starting to load herring into its tank trailer. The trailer appears to be a former fuel tanker.

The trailers are usually not new - they are often older fuel or milk tankers, re-purposed to carry fish. They are top loaded with the fish, and a certain amount of salt water in a slurry form. On arrival at the fish plant the cargo is dumped from gate valves installed on the back of the trailers.  The trucks do not require any pumping gear, so that any available tractor can be called upon to haul herring in season.

There is considerable variety in trucks and trailers waiting to load. A very nice looking Pete with a stainless steel jacketed trailer joins some rougher looking rigs.

Not all herring ride in the comfort of tanks, some have to travel in fish boxes, lashed down to a flat bed.

 Once each box is loaded by means of a pump chute from the fishing boat, the lids are put on and tied down. There is a fair amount of sloshing around in the boxes, which must present a bit of a challenge for the driver of this fine looking Peterbilt.

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A tale of two Kenworths

Kenworths come in all shapes and sizes, and there are still lots of traditional types on the road.

Floyd Gibbons Trucking runs one such rig, among many others.

http://floydgibbonstrucking.ca/

( That's an Agrifac self-propelled crop sprayer on the trailer. )

But then there are newer versions:

This is the sleeper version of the T880 - and although it is not traditional looking it is impressive nonetheless. As usual KW has an equally impressive 26 page brochure to go with it:

http://www.kenworth.com/media/49156/T880%20August%202014.pdf

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Big Stuff on Big Trailers

Some recent oversize loads have caught my attention.

No secret what was shrink wrapped on this trailer:

But the hauler was a treat:

T-Lane of Saint John, NB brought out their big Freightliner for the job.

An Atlas Copco MT42 minetruck was ready to roll last week but it was not until last evening that Mills Heavy Hauling's Mack Granite arrived to haul it out. [see next posting on Kenworths for the red machine in the background]

Mills also had this rig at Aulac, NB earlier this month, heading west.

There were lots of miles on the Western Star (which sitting unattended, with its engine roaring at top revs)

But not so the brand new Liebherr loader. It was fresh off the ship and headed west. It's a Paron trailer, but I'm not sure about the dolly.

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