Scania population doubles - updated

With the latest arrival from the Netherlands the population of Scania trucks in eastern Canada has probably doubled.  Milltown Trucking's impressive bright green Scania has now been joined by a more sedate looking unit from the Netherlands.

The green unit has been in Canada for some time, working out of St.Stephen, NB, but the blue one has just cleared customs at Fairview Cove and will be on its way to its new home today. It has a slightly lower roof line and different fairing on the back edge of the cab, and thinner visor, but is very similar in appearance.

Reported to be 23 years old, but with "some work" done on it, the rig would qualify for duty-free due to its age. It has the usual European air lift rear axle. The two men were reinstalling streamline panels on the fuel tanks, which were likely removed for the boat trip, and re-torquing the wheels.

The green rig has had "some work" done on  it too, including the rally lights on the roof. If the "new" one gets the same treatment it will be an equally impressive sight bombing down the roads of New Brunswick at night - deer and moose beware.

I saw the green truck in July and posted a photo of it here: Scania 2

Aside from the conventional cab water truck - which may or may not still be around - the two COEs pictured may represent the entire total number of Scanias in this region of Canada.

Update:

I should have noted that the green unit is a 2004 R580V Topline (6x2) that came originally from Norway. [Thanks to a reader's coomment on a previous post.]

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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.

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Grove GMK5150L-1

 Just in from the factory in Europe and now on a rail car and ready to head out, this Grove GMK5150L-1 All Terrain crane is an impressive sight.

The riggers are readying the unit to board the flatcar.

The GMK5050L-1 is a 150 tonne (175 US ton) capacity rig and with a 6 section main boom, swing away and various boom and jib extensions may have a maximum tip height of 88m (288 ft.).

Grove is one of the Manitowoc brands, along with Potain, National Crane and Shuttle-Lift.

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More HRFE+S

 Halifax Region Fire and Emergency Service serves a population of 430,000+. Spread out over an area of 5577 square kilometers, which includes some very sparsely populated rural areas and a fairly densely populated urban centre, the HRFE+S has 51 fire stations with about 1,000 personnel, of which 489 are career firefighters and more than 600 are volunteers.

There are nineteen stations in the urban core and three on the old Halifax peninsula (where I live). Station 2, University Ave, Station 3, West Street and Station 4 Duffus Street. [There is no longer a  Station 1]

The rigs seen exercising yesterday are based on the peninsula, and Platform 3, the 2020 Pierce Arrow, 20-618P is brand new to the West Street station. [The "20" on the apparatus number represents the year the unit was ordered]. The previous Aerial 3 was active earlier in September, but has since been removed from service and is currently unassigned:

A 2009 E-One Cyclone II it had 1750 gpm pump, 250 gallon tank and 114 ft Bronto aerial platform. It carried the number 09-498P.

On September 7, when it was exercising, it had a companion pumper, Engine 3 (which is still in service):

A 2017 Spartan ERV with 1250 GPM pump and 625 gallon tank, it is number 17-585E. It looks very much like most of the current engines in Halifax which have Spartan cab/chassis but came from Carl Thibault in various years including 2011, 2012 and 2020. 

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Pierce goes high and a flashback

 Although it was a rainy day, Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Service was exercising today, giving me a chance to see a pair of Pierces.

Quint 7 runs this 2017 Pierce Arrow XT6700 . It pumps 1750 gpm, has a 400 gal tank and a 75' rear mount aerial ladder. It operates from Station 7, Bayers Road and carries HRF+ES number 18-581Q.

A more recent acquisition is this aerial platform:

Platform 3 operates from West Street with this 2020 Pierce Arrow XT, with 1750 gpm pump, 250 gal tank and 100' mid-mount. It carries HRMF+ES fleet number 20-618P .

Firefighters travel in relative comfort and safety nowadays. "Back when" they had to ride in open top apparatus:

 

Back in September 1966 when the West German ship Wuppertal arrived in the port of Halifax with fire in its cargo of baled cotton, the response was by the King Seagrave pumper in the foreground and an unidentified pumper in the background. I believe there were municipal hydrants in the area,so they did not have to draft seawater from the harbour. 

The fire was extinguished without serious consequences, except to some cotton.

 

 I know this is a truck blog, but a little car identification is always fun too. The Rambler on the far left was my family transportation on the day.

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Kenworth Days

 Although tomorrow, September 16 is the official opening day of the new Bayview Kenworth facility in the Burnside Industrial Park in Dartmouth, I decided to have a preview today.

This very smart straight reefer/box truck with sleeper was on display out front. For long hauls with high value perishables, such as lobsters, this type of vehicle has long been popular with fish dealers in the Maritimes for their frequent trips to Boston. 

Also in the lot was this brawny tractor fitted out for logging by C.E.Harrison Woodlands. It is rare to see driving lights mounted inside the bull bars, but they are both essential equipment for back roads.

Across the harbour and back in Halifax, A-1 Towing and Recovery from Lower Sackville, NS was just hooking up to this broke down International.

The set back front axle truck has lost its KW radiator emblem, and now has a bulldog mounted on top, but its ancestry can't be concealed that easily. The fifth wheel wrecker unit mounted on the long chassis is a rare sight in this area, but does allow the truck to be converted back to semi-trailer work quickly when needed.

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Trucks from far and wide

 With the wide variety of cargoes coming and going through the Port of Halifax it is not surprising that trucks come and go from all points. Today I spotted one from Saskatoon, SK. Rockport Carrier Co advertises that it has 40 drivers and works across Canada and the 48 United States with more than 100 dry vans and decks.

This Western Star is about as streamlined as they get, featuring the huge fairing over the sleeper, something not usually seen on trucks hauling step deck trailers. 

Behind it is one of Total Transport + Rigging's "trombone" Paron trailers, stretched out to carry an Airbus A220-300 fuselage imported from France and headed for Mirabel, QC. The aluminium-lithium and composite fuselage is secured to a dedicated "trolley", which in turn is secured to the trailer.

Due to road restrictions, the unit only moves out of Halifax at night so I was not able to see what truck was doing the hauling.

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