More Big Loads

 Lots of port related traffic today - March 28.

A small herd of Deeres left the area behind an Evangeline Transport Freightliner.

Next up were a couple of wide body aircraft fuselages from Ireland behind a pair of Watson trucks - one Kenworth and one Peterbilt. Watson is now part of QSL, and the trucks do not get the custom paint schemes they used to have - too bad.

 

 Bellemaire trucks still have the unique orange / yellow paint scheme. I never did get a clear shot of this Kenworth hauling a Sandvik mine truck.

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Hauls, Backhauls and New Hauls

 A tremendous amount of machinery has been moving through the Port of Halifax recently. It would be impossible to track all of it, but this is what I have been able to catch by chance.

This morning Atlantic Tiltload had a pair of John Deere timber forwarders, model 1910G and called out their  Freightliner number 18 and International HX number 19 for the work.

 Both tractors are equipped with an extra axle and at least one of the trailers is a Talbert.

The Earl Paddock company from Stoney Creek, ON specialize in transporting military vehicles and are seen here often with both wheeled and tracked vehicles from General Dynamics for export. They are usually in and out so quickly that I don't get to see their well kept fleet of Kenworths.

 

Many of these military vehicles have passed outbound though Halifax recently.

Today I did spot Paddock Kenworth number 512, backhauling a Liebherr L 580 wheel loader.

 Speaking of loaders I saw this big Komatsu WA600 ready for the road, but no sign of the hauler.

Another operator of well kept Kenworths is the oversize load specialists Transport Watson from Quebec. In 2020 the QSL (founded as Quebec Stevedores Ltd) acquired Watson + Sycamore from Groupe Robert, but have retained the Watson identity so far. Their trucks are well known in Halifax for hauling aircraft components imported by Bombardier. I recently spotted what appeared to be a pair of new Kenworths:

Unit number W3913 is ready for a wide load with flags in place. It is a T880 model with mid-rise sleeper.

Unit W3912 appears to be built to a similar spec (but with a bull bar), and a large headache rack equipped with storage compartments.

What I think is a new name to the Halifax area is Sunbelt Rentals (a huge North America wide operation with 1,1000 locations.) I recently spotted their Peterbilt tilt deck, bearing Alberta plates.

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Deeres gone to the dog

 A pair of John Deeres were about to take to the road Friday May 6 on a tri-axle step deck trailer.

They are both AWD row crop tractors, models 6215R (left) and 7930 (right). Deere has tractor factories all around the world, but I guess these two were built in Mannheim, Germany. In charge of the trailer was a Freightliner operated by Little Max Transport Services of Norwich, ON.

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Snow Groomers

Just when I thought summer had finally arrived, a fleet of snow groomers suddenly appeared. I guess you need to be prepared for next winter, but it is a bit unsettling to see these rigs on bare pavement.
Without trying to settle the argument about who invented this type of tracked vehicle, there are four different manufacturers represented and one conversion company, and there may be room for a few more.

Pisten Bully claims to be the largest manufacturer of snow groomers, and has a wide range of models - this is a small one. The company is an offshoot of the old Kassbohrer bus manufacturer (sold its Setra bus line to Diamler in 1995) and is based in Germany. It was established in 1969.

Prinorth, based in Italy, was founded by the race car driver Ernst Prinorth in 1951. Through a complex set of mergers and acquisitions, it is the successor to Bombardier's industrial vehicles division.

 Favero Lorenzo was founded in the 1980s, also in Italy, and is the builder of this Snow Rabbit 3X.

Tucker, founded in 1942 and based in Oregon makes many types of tracked snow travel vehicles, including passenger carrying types. Their registered trade mark Sno-Cat  must be one of the best known names in the  business.

I am assuming this is a Soucy Track conversion of a John Deere 6155R tractor. They build track systems for nearly every make of farm tractor available.

The two oldest contenders for tracked vehicles go well back:


Tucker

I caught this Tucker dozing in a pasture near Edmunston, NB in 1994.

 
It had enjoyed a second career grooming snow mobile trails. Miraculously its Tucker, Sno-Cat and Medford, Oregon name plates were still intact.



Bombardier

Before it was a recreational vehicle the Bombardier Snowmobile was the only form of motorized winter transportation in many parts of Quebec.

This was a typical unit from the 1950s. Often used as school buses (some with a plywood body) they were fitted with skis on front in the winter.

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Long Haul Pete

This Pete, owned by RJ Express and running for Action Express of Regina, Saskatchewan was carrying a John Deere 1270G tree harvester.

 
The harvester was delivered to Halifax by ship, and  the driver was doing some final checks before hitting the road this morning.
Here's more on the Deere:
https://www.deere.ca/en_US/products/equipment/harvesters/wheeled_harvesters/1270g_ft4/1270g_ft4.page? 

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