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Vanguard Moves Gautrain
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Vanguard will transport 94 Gautrain locomotives
and carriages to site over the next 18 months |
Specialist
heavy lifting and transportation company Vanguard has been
awarded the contract, by Bombardier a subcontractor to
Bombela, to transport the carriages and locomotives to site
for the Gautrain project. The Gautrain is a project of the
Gauteng Provincial Government.
The Vanguard transport project commenced at the beginning of
December 2008 with the transportation of the first two
locomotives that arrived from Derby, England from the
Bombardier manufacturing facility.
These first two locomotives for the Gauteng Provincial
Government’s rapid rail project arrived in Durban Harbour
and were offloaded from the ship directly onto the Vanguard
trailers. |
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Vanguard designed and manufactured a specialised,
custom-built extension deck, with rails, to be used in
combination with a six axle trailer configuration and
gooseneck to transport the 47 ton locomotive.
“Vanguard’s modular trailer and its impressive flexibility,
hydraulics and self-steer rear axle capabilities are key
factors in the success of this project,” says James
Robinson, Vanguard project engineer. “The locomotives and
rail cars measure between 18 and 21 metres in length and
weigh in at 46,700 kilograms each, so positioning the
trailer precisely on-site is crucial.” |
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The modular trailer’s self steering capability
was
essential in manoeuvring the load precisely
onto
the rails |
Once
on site, the trailer was driven into the shunting yard and
positioned exactly in line with the rails. The steering of
the rear axles of the trailer was separated from the front
of the trailer and an operator used the self-steering
capability to assist the driver in manoeuvring the trailer
into place.
“Once we were in place, we placed an 18 metre ramp behind
the trailer. Using the trailer’s hydraulics, the gooseneck
was raised while the rear axles were simultaneously lowered.
The winch was then released, allowing the train to roll onto
the rails,” says Robinson.
The trip from Durban to the site in Midrand, Johannesburg
took approximately three days and required police escorts.
Due to height restrictions, the convoy followed alternative
routes along the 800 kilometre journey. |
“This is the beginning of the project for us. Over the next
year and a half we will be collecting a total of 94
locomotives and carriages, with 13 more shipped in from
overseas. The balance of the train units will be collected
from South African-based, The UCW Partnership, located in
Nigel, Gauteng,” says Robinson. |
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