THIS is the newest and longest road train in Africa. Operated 24/7 by Unitrans, these road trains are driven on average
for 19 hours a day by a relay team of four drivers per train at Richards Bay
Minerals. The group of elite drivers who operate the rigs say the true tracking
and continuous power delivery make these 42,15-metre monsters “almost easy” to
drive when compared to the older, tail-happy three-axle road trains they also
have on site.
“Almost”, for turning the 42-metre rig requires that the driver has
started planning that turn last week. Once committed to a radius, no corrections
can be made to the decreasing corners cut by the 30 rear axles.
Each train has a Western Star with a Cummins ISX 565 straight six
pulling four Afrit wagons.
A seven-speed Allison gearbox with 14 forward ratios ensures
continuous power delivery to the three heavy-duty Sisu axles from Finland.
Empty, the entire rig weighs 60 tons, which tallies up to one ton for each of
the 60 wheels at the back.
While detailed information on load and axle configurations are
proprietorial to Unitrans, Gert Brits, general manager of mining services at
Unitrans Freight and Logistics, said he was very satisfied with the efficiencies
that their unique adaption to traditional heavy haul configurations have
achieved during its first quarter of operations.
The efficiencies achieved in designing the new road trains now
enable Unitrans to deliver 15% more payload compared to their older system,
using side tippers designed by Afrit to achieve the optimum balance between
weight and durability. André van de Wetering, managing director at Afrit, said
the four-tipper system has proven to track true on any road surface. — WWR.
