Truck Trains

[spokyone]

It is common during road construction to use 2, 40' bottom dumps. With the long tongue on the 2nd unit, it makes for a long rig.

[J. Edgar]

in the 50's and 60's there was in the US something known as "turnpike trains" ..........1 tractor would haul 2 or 3 40' trailers.....on the turnpike only ( PA OH IN IL )there were special turnoff areas for these longer combo vehicals to park and "switch" ...............the truck tractor had a hitch on the front that would allow the driver and "helper" to move the trailers and dollies ( the wheels under the front of the 2nd trailer) around as they were not allowed on normal roads in such a long form.........this info comes from a 1964 Popular Mechanics magizine

In the west, there are still a lot of tripple trailers running on the Interstates.  There are also rigs known as "rocky mountain Doubles", a 53 ft box and a 28' pup behind that.  On the Siskyu pass, between California and Oregon, they even keep "Helpers" on the toughest grade, to help them over the  top when its icey...I have seen a Yellow Freight bob cab with Highway-patrol like oush bars on the front, parked in  a short "stub" heading up the grade, during icy weather!  Fortunately (or otherwise...) I have not been there when they actually have used them...

 

 

i do believe the SW states ( NM NV AZ west TX) also allow triples ........3 28' vans.........triples are allowed on the Turnpike during certian hours along certian stretches

as far as helpers.......man youd have to realy realy trust the guy driving behind you.......

[samfp1943]

in the 50's and 60's there was in the US something known as "turnpike trains" ..........1 tractor would haul 2 or 3 40' trailers.....on the turnpike only ( PA OH IN IL )there were special turnoff areas for these longer combo vehicals to park and "switch" ...............the truck tractor had a hitch on the front that would allow the driver and "helper" to move the trailers and dollies ( the wheels under the front of the 2nd trailer) around as they were not allowed on normal roads in such a long form.........this info comes from a 1964 Popular Mechanics magizine

In the west, there are still a lot of tripple trailers running on the Interstates.  There are also rigs known as "rocky mountain Doubles", a 53 ft box and a 28' pup behind that.  On the Siskyu pass, between California and Oregon, they even keep "Helpers" on the toughest grade, to help them over the  top when its icey...I have seen a Yellow Freight bob cab with Highway-patrol like oush bars on the front, parked in  a short "stub" heading up the grade, during icy weather!  Fortunately (or otherwise...) I have not been there when they actually have used them...

I beleive it was the Rand McNally COmmercial Motor Atlas where there is a description of about 4 different combinations of multiple trailers commonly used....and a list of the states that allow them, and approved routes.  Mostly they are allowed on Interstates and the shortest route from the Intertate to the local terminals.

And, In the Pacific North West, I have seen a double trailer that doesnt use the pintle hook for connecting....on the lead trailer, always the longer one, the rear wheels (bogie?) are at the end of the trailer, and extends beyond the box far enough for another hitch plate, to which the rear trailer ataches, just like the front trailer connects to the tractor.  I have seen a lot of lumber move south on US 97 on these type of trucks...

 

As for the helper trucks or pushers, before the Interstates were a presence in West Virginia, there were several companies, one in particular,it's HQ was Staunton,Va [I think it might have been Smith?]. that ran special helper jobs on US Hwy 19 around Beckley, WVa and to the west, Those were tractors with weight boxes built on or attached to the fifth wheel and big wooden bumpers on the front. Their job was to help their Company's trucks over the mountains, but would give about any truck with a problem a push to keep traffic moving.

You may not remember them, but the early Autocars (1940-50's) had a rounded metal bumper whose specific purpose was to shove the slower truck ahead of you up the hill. A number of manufacturers did a similar thing, Mack, Brown, Diamond T to name a few. It was a pretty common practice in the days of underpowered gas engines and small diesels.

Travel the northern turnpikes, Indiana and Ohio as well as the NY thruway on to the Mass Pike.   Used to be double 45'ers or three pups 28'ers, on NY thruway you could pull up to three 45'ers. In the mid west Okla may still allow a couple of 45/48 and three pups on the Oklahoma pikes to exit at Joplin,Mo. and up into Kansas on the I-35 Kansas turnpike.

The trailers with the fifth wheels mounted to the back of the front trailer is called a "train" that is a Canadian deal. Tractor, trailer and the front trailer has the axles set extremely far back, and the fifth wheel for the rear trailer mounts over axles on the first trailer.  They designated them as either "A" or "C" trains.

 I think, I've seen some but that's about it.

 

[chad thomas]

They are called B-Trains and are very popular with the wood chip haulers in the Pacific Northwest.

 

BTW- The thingys with the hitches are called converter dolleys.

[JSGreen]

in the 50's and 60's there was in the US something known as "turnpike trains" ..........1 tractor would haul 2 or 3 40' trailers.....on the turnpike only ( PA OH IN IL )there were special turnoff areas for these longer combo vehicals to park and "switch" ...............the truck tractor had a hitch on the front that would allow the driver and "helper" to move the trailers and dollies ( the wheels under the front of the 2nd trailer) around as they were not allowed on normal roads in such a long form.........this info comes from a 1964 Popular Mechanics magizine

In the west, there are still a lot of tripple trailers running on the Interstates.  There are also rigs known as "rocky mountain Doubles", a 53 ft box and a 28' pup behind that.  On the Siskyu pass, between California and Oregon, they even keep "Helpers" on the toughest grade, to help them over the  top when its icey...I have seen a Yellow Freight bob cab with Highway-patrol like oush bars on the front, parked in  a short "stub" heading up the grade, during icy weather!  Fortunately (or otherwise...) I have not been there when they actually have used them...

I beleive it was the Rand McNally COmmercial Motor Atlas where there is a description of about 4 different combinations of multiple trailers commonly used....and a list of the states that allow them, and approved routes.  Mostly they are allowed on Interstates and the shortest route from the Intertate to the local terminals.

And, In the Pacific North West, I have seen a double trailer that doesnt use the pintle hook for connecting....on the lead trailer, always the longer one, the rear wheels (bogie?) are at the end of the trailer, and extends beyond the box far enough for another hitch plate, to which the rear trailer ataches, just like the front trailer connects to the tractor.  I have seen a lot of lumber move south on US 97 on these type of trucks...

 

[Railfan1]

I guess it is the same idea as hooking two or three short trains together to make one. That's two less people to pay, less fuel to buy, and one more thing "time is money".

[J. Edgar]

in the 50's and 60's there was in the US something known as "turnpike trains" ..........1 tractor would haul 2 or 3 40' trailers.....on the turnpike only ( PA OH IN IL )there were special turnoff areas for these longer combo vehicals to park and "switch" ...............the truck tractor had a hitch on the front that would allow the driver and "helper" to move the trailers and dollies ( the wheels under the front of the 2nd trailer) around as they were not allowed on normal roads in such a long form.........this info comes from a 1964 Popular Mechanics magizine

[CNW534]

Are the trailers permanently coupled?

They use dollies and pintle hooks, just like UPS and other North American trucks that use double or triple trailers.  Individual trailers can be dropped or hitched within minutes.

Watching one go around a corner is like watching a caterpiller (insect) crawl around a corner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOp3u0KbaKo

Mark

[spokyone]

Those look interesting. Couple of questions.

Are the trailers permanently coupled? Is there a special linkage so that the last trailers do not run over the sidewalk when turning a corner?

EDIT This is answer to  first Q

Just For The Record tells how Kalgoorlie?s Doug Gould and his mates connected 117 trailers to a Kenworth Truck powered by a tenacious 600 horsepower Caterpillar engine to make the world?s longest roadtrain. The full road train rolled along on 2126 wheels, and was almost a one-mile long.

[Anonymous]

yeah  the african road  trains are cool i allways wanted to go there and drive one.

 but if i had any broken equipment i would be stuck because i couldent fix it and  help could be days away

 

[CNW534]

The Aussies love their road trains.

http://www.aroundoz.com/images/august_2001/newbie/road_train.jpg

http://www.goana.com.au/Gossips/Gossip36/images/RoadTrain.jpg

http://www.poster.net/foag-markus/foag-markus-road-train-2406102.jpg

http://www.truckweb.ca/images/Europe/Volvo_RoadTrain.jpg

 

[Lyon_Wonder]

A few days ago I watched a show on the Science Channel about trucks.  The program had a segment about trucking in Australia.  Much of Australia, especially the interior, is desolate with hardly any rail infrastructure.  The Australians came up with an ingenious method of hauling materials in larger qualities through these remote areas.  They haul 5, 6, or maybe even more trailers together attached to the same truck.  Since the area is remote and sparsely populated they don’t have to worry about other traffic very often.