14/10/2024
Male, really old at 74, lives in Australia. This is a truck with 4 trailers known as a roadtrain. It delivers fuel to mine sites and small towns. It hauls 158,000 litres of diesel fuel or 41,740 gallons if you are in a country with medieval measurements. It weighs in at 186.5 tonnes and is 60 metres long (411,162 lbs ~ 197 ft).
Many people, especially Americans, say “but why don’t they use rail?” The explanation is easy. Australia is around the same size as mainland USA, but with only 26 million people, and 95% of them live within 50 kms of the coast, and most people live on the east coast anyway.
The centre, western and northern parts of the country are virtually barren, with a few small towns and a lot of mines. These roadtrains are an essential part of outback livng. Can you imagine the whole centre (yes centre, not center) of USA with hardly anyone there?
Outback people are used to them. The vast majority of Australians live in big cities or towns, and even they are surprised when they go on holidays and see the size of these machines. There are many urban myths about how fast they go and wander all over the road, but in reality they track straight and are limited to 90 - 100 kms/hr with satellite tracking.
Another dull fact, but interesting to dull people like me, is that Australia has some of the longest and heaviest railway trains in the world. The big iron ore companies like BHP in the North-West run iron ore trains at 40,000+ tonnes, nearly 3 kms long, with around 240 cars. They run fully importd North American GE and EMD locomotives which you won’t see anywhere else in Australia. So for dull people, mainly men, who like to see big machines, the Australian outback is the place to visit.
Credits: John Wilson From Dull Men's Club®
