‘Railroad’ project on track

The Gautrain project is big business
for specialist heavy lifting and
transportation company Vanguard
which was awarded the contract by
Bombardier, a subcontractor to Bombela,
to transport the carriages and locomotives
over an 18-month period.
The project started at the beginning
of December 2008 when the first two
locomotives arrived in Durban harbour
from Bombardier’s manufacturing facility
in Derby, England.
They were offloaded from the ship
directly onto specially designed Vanguard
trailers.
The custom-built extension deck with
rails was used in combination with a six
axle trailer configuration and gooseneck to
transport the 47 ton locomotive.
“Vanguard’s modular trailer and its
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.”
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.
“The project involves the collection of 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,”
he said.