Moose Bars- needed in Quebec

 Quebec is not the only part of the country where moose are a road hazard. However it must be especially bad on Route 138 on the North Shore of the St.Lawrence judging by the number of trucks fitted with impressive moose bars.

 Most of the moose bars I saw this summer were pretty basic frames, 

 

but some were contoured to fit specific trucks.

The wide load banner on this one appears to interfere with the headlights.

 

.

  and this one appears  to be integrated with the bumper, and does not extend below it.

Highway 138 running the length of the St.Lawrence River is usually only two lane and passes through may miles of woodland. Compared to the cost of repiirs after a moose (or bear, or deer) collision, a substantial moose bar may be a small investment.

. 

New Volvos

 Volvo's North American trucks have stepped up to the plate in terms of appearance. Their older models - which I always thought were okay looking - now appear stodgy by comparison to the "all new" VML. I have only seen this model recently, so here are the two examples I have seen so far.

MacKay's, the dealer in Truro, had one on the lot last weekend, which I saw while I was en route to the Atlantic Truck Show in Moncton.

Conrad's Transport (part of the Ocean Group - loyal Volvo customers themselves with their bright green transit mixers) has at least one on the road (fleet number 003) - joining older model units.

Shuttling ACL containers from Fairview Cove, and old (Triple Crown?) trailers at Pier 9C seems kind of "under utilizing" the assets, but at least it stood still long enough for a picture.

.

 

 

 

Linde goes gas with Volvo

 Linde Canada Inc, the large industrial gas distributor, has entered into a one-time pilot program with Volvo North America to operate five LNG powered trucks. I was a little surprised to see that the truck model they will be using is the European built Volvo FH 460, a standard LNG powered vehicle, but perhaps built to Canadian (North American) standards. The five tractors arrived in Halifax by ship last week.

The trucks are rated for 60 tonnes GCW with up to 500 hp and a 1,000 km range. The high-pressure direct injection LNG system is reported to provide performance similar to conventional diesels, but the use of LNG reduces CO2 emissions considerably.

Expect to see these on the road somewhere near where they can refuel. 

.

Oversize times two

 Two oversize loads were poised for departure today at the PSA Fairview Cove terminal. 

CFL Heavy Haul of Milton, ON (part of the HW Transportation Group) had a pair of large farm tractors - one Massey Ferguson and one John Deere, heading for Ontario.

Despite their North American brand names, both tractors arrived from Europe. Pulling the load was a well equipped Freightliner, in basic white.

 Beside it was a Volvo A30G articulated off road dumper (pre-owned).

In charge of the rig was another well equipped Freightliner, this time from TransMax Ltd of Winnipeg, MB, and wearing all red.

 .

 

 

Road Trip - Part 2

 Continuing my northern mainland Nova Scotia jaunt from September 10, is a mixed bag of interesting or different vehicles.

Truro, NS is an important transportation hub on the Trans Canada Highway (designated Highway 104 in Nova Scotia) running from the New Brunswick border to North Sydney on Cape Breton Island. Nearby Onslow is the junction with Highway 102, which runs approximately 100 km to Halifax and is the busiest section of highway in Atlantic Canada.

It is not surprsing that Truro is home to two major truck dealers - one for Freightliner and one for Volvo/Mack. Both also operate large maintenance facilities. 

The Volvo / Mack dealer ( MacKay's - no relation) had some colourful equipment in its yard.

A couple of new Macks were lined up on display.

The owners of this new Volvo opted for high visibility.

Getting ready for winter, this Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Mack plow truck may also be getting ready for a new door label as the department has been renamed the Department of Public Works.

Several trucking companies make their homse in Truro sas well. One that is new to me is WMB Holdings Ltd, a transporter of commodities - I assume agriculture related. They run some big bulk hauling rigs such as this Kenworth. The tires on the fourth trailer axle are just slightly off the ground.

 Irving Oil's large truck stop is a convenient stopping off point for through traffic, and is a good place to see long haul trucks such as this Kenworth running for DFS Projects of Woodstock, ON.

The used Cat backhoe may be coming from or going to the nearby Ritchie Bros equipment auctioneers, whose facility at Debert, NS is another busy spot.

.

 

What's new and not so new

 I don't often get to the Burnside Industrial Park in Dartmouth, but when I do I like to swing by all the truck dealers to see what is on the lots.  Usually there is something of interest. Sometimes it is a new truck ready to deliver and sometimes it is an older truck in for service or resale.

Today (April 23) was a nice sunny day, and this is what I saw:

A new Mack Anthem ready for delivery to Municipal Contracting. It has some nice options including a serious headache rack.

Hansen's deliver high end autos in enclosed trailers, but also carry cars in the open. This Volvo was in the yard, maybe for servicing.

The Kenworth dealer had this "triple screw" T880 - surely a fairly rare beast - and worthy of two photos:

 

The Western Star dealer had this 4900 with a very serious bull bar:

 Speaking of W'Stars, and bull bars I spotted this twin steer, at the Navistar International dealer's lot:

To round off the trip, I also saw a rare International LoneStar, but not at the dealer's. It was at the Petro Pass fuel stop. It also had a serious critter filter, specially configured to protect the LoneStar.

.

More Heavies

 I have seen a few more oversize loads waiting for permits:

XLR Transport from Montreal had a Junttan PM16 pile driving rig. Built in Finland the unit has a working weight of 37,000 kg. The all white KW looks good too, hauling a four axle MANAC trailer with two axle dolly.

 

Parked next for a while was another truck from Quebec:

TMF Heavy Haul from Mascouche had this German made Bauer BG36H / BS95 mobile rotary drilling rig on a big three axle Aspen trailer with a two axle extension and two axle dolly. In contrast to the previous rig the three axle Kenworth W990 with mid-rise sleeper was in basic black.

Seeing the two together points out the contrast between the traditional long hood design and the W990, introduced in 2018.

 The local company TDR (part of the Dexter / Municipal Group) had this Metso Lokotrak LT 106 rock crusher from Finland - probably for one of their own quarries:

Their Western Star only needed a single axle dolly to spread out the load from the three axle trailer.

J.D.Irving Ltd's large fleet of trucks includes this daycab Freightliner with a third axle.It is used to haul components for JDI's crane business, particularly the large ballast weights needed to keep the cranes on the ground.

The set-back front axle unit is equipped with a big "headache rack"and a pair of stacks that are set well in behind the cab.

J.D.Irving Ltd is the parent company for Irving Shipbuilding Inc, operators of the Halifax Shipyard. The yard recently launched a new ship, and used a fleet of Self Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs) to move the ship onto the launch barge. JDI appears to own some SPMTs, but brings in more when needed. Some come by ships from Fagioli in Europe. The SPMTs are built by Scheuerle.

Others apparently come from other parts of the world. I noted this one labelled "Berard", which is a company based in New Iberia, LA. I believe they also manage the moves. The interesting thing about the photo is the truck hauling the unit is a Day and Ross Volvo. Day and Ross is also a New Brunswick based company and are competitors with Irving in the trucking business, and it is indeed rare to see any Irving related business going to Day and Ross.

.

New Territory

 Instead of hanging around the port area I decided to branch out a bit today and take in something different. Out in the Rocky Lake area, I spotted a nice day cab Mack tractor with no owners marking.

If I were going to haul slippery cargo like that I would like a headache rack or a trailer bulkhead.

Nearby was this short wheelbase Volvo day cab, specialized for moving mobile home and factory  built houses.

But back to the port, and all the oversize cargo that arrives by ship. One recent one was this pile driving tower bound for Ontario.

A sharp looking Western Star with a four axle trailer and single axle dolly bound for Ontario had to wait several days for permits. JNB Heavy Haul claims Brodhagen, ON as its home, but is really based in nearby Mitchell, ON near the home of some of my ancestors.

.

More Trucks from All Over

 Yesterday and today was time for more trucks from all over the country and even some local ones.

This attractive low rise F'liner with a MAC grain trailer works for WCF which appears to be out of Berwick, Nova Scotia. It was backing in at P+H Milling's flour mill in Halifax, with the Halifax Grain Elevators in the background. The trailer appears to have an interesting suspension with wheels all askew.

As usual there was lots or road transport from the container terminals today.

LFR Logistiques from Levis, QC had this rare Western Star with high rise / aerodynmaic sleeper. It has  reefer equipped skeleton trailer. 

Walmac Trasnportation hails from the southern New Brunswick village of Quispamsis but runs longaul open deck throughout Canada and the USS. Their mid-rise sleeper equipped Pete claims to be "Slow and Early". That scuffed up front bumper is an indication of very high mileage.

Agway Metals Inc of Brampton, ON delivers its metal roofing and siding with this high-rise Volvo, painted in company colours.

This F'liner from Travel Transport of Mississauga, ON was also delivering metal to the same construction project, and showed off how its trailer works for unloading the panels.

Halifax based road construction and maintenance company Ocean Contracting, runs a large truck fleet, painted in a unique green colour, and always spotlessly clean. This day cab Volvo, hauling a low boy from J.C.Trailers has a very small "payload" of a Kubota front end loader.

.

More Oversize

 More oversize loads continue to arrive in Halifax by ship. They are usually on the road within a very few hours, so I probably miss most of them. However this evening I did catch a couple:

Riggers were still at work completing the chains to secure this unit from Superior Boiler. It will be hauled away by this colorful F'Liner from ASET (Alberta Specialize Equipment Transport) from Carstairs, AB.

Meanwhile:

A low rise Volvo from IMT International Machine Transport from Abbotsford, BC loaded this big crate. IMT specializes in aerospace component transport as well as oversize and heavy. The crate displays Rolls Royce markings and a weight of 34,150 kg.

.

Right Hand Drives

It is unusual to see a right hand drive vehicle, but to see two of them within minutes is indeed a rare occurrence.

First up was this cute little street sweeper. Much smaller than the usual rig, it must be used for pathways and trails or other roadways that are too narrow for the bigger units.

The RAVO is a Dutch manufacturer, part of the Fayat Group, a French company. Very well known in Europe, they are fairly recent arrivals in this country. The RHD configuration allows the driver to cosy up to curbs where most of the road grit accumulates over the winter months.

Somewhat larger in scale is this well used European Volvo that I discovered driving around near the Fairview Cove terminal, so perhaps it had recently arrived from Europe. it didn't appear to have local plates or permits.

The rig was also equipped with an unusual looking Multlift body.

The plates it did carry were "SF 53 WFD" .

.

Heading Home

This Volvo with its 90m articulated boom is heading back to Europe after a time in Canada as a demonstrator. It was spotted near pier  23 waiting for its ship.

The boom was built by Janneniska OY in Finland. They have now established themselves in Canada, and no longer require the unit. The Janneninska Group is the parent company of Bladefence Canada Ltd which  specializes in wind turbine repair and maintenance. Bladefence set up in Canada in 2016 with an office in Toronto, but services the whole country. (That is one of their smaller units in the left of the upper photo). Bladefence Canada currently operates a fleet of more than half a dozen units ranging from 90 to 105m.

I first saw the crane truck truck just before Christmas 2016, shortly after it came ashore.

The Volvo chassis is a 5x4 with twin steer axles forward, tandem drive axles and a trailing axle at the rear.

.