Reported by Transportweekly 22.12.2008 (Pictures from BigLorryBlog)
SCHEUERLE received an order from the company Griffin Coal Mining in Perth, West Australia, to deliver heavy duty transport vehicles for transportation of huge excavators and dumpers, which are used in the coal mining industry. The machines, weighing up to 700 tons, put very special demands on the transporters. After about one year of development and construction the self-propelled transport system, which is based on the successful SCHEUERLE InterCombi series, has now been tested extensively before delivery.
Griffin Coal Mine is one of the biggest strip mining companies in Australia. Approx. 200 kilometres south-eastern of Perth, about 3 million tons of coal is mined annually. Already during the beginning of the Australian industrialisation, the Griffin Coal Mine played an important role by supplying to the national railway company. By now Griffin Coal Mine Company is one of the major subcontractors of the West-Australian energy sector, that operates several energy producing power plants with coal from the so-called „Colli Basins“.
If additional coal fields are to be made accessible to secure future energy supplies, massive excavators and dumpers also have to be relocated to this new site. However, a strip mining excavator, which can weigh up to 700 tons, is not designed for covering long distances. For this reason Griffin Coal Mine Company placed an order with SCHEUERLE to develop a powerful transport system.
This system is based on the successful SCHEUERLE heavy duty transport vehicles of the “InterCombi” series. Four 6-axle modules and two 2-axle modules can be coupled with one another depending on the load. 20 of a total of 56 pendulum axles possess a hydrostatic drive. To assure the traction drive, these axles are charged with pressure oil by two Power-Pack Units (PPUs). Also fed by the Power-Pack Units are the steering cylinder and the axle compensation cylinder, which position the vehicle platform for loading and unloading accordingly and ensure the necessary axle compensation while driving at ground unevenness. The transport combination is controlled by a radio remote control unit. Via joy-stick all important functions like forward and backward gear as well as the steering can be handled. If the transport of a huge excavator is operated, the vehicle combinations can be coupled side-by-side with 14 axle lines each and connected with distance bearings. The combination is lowered at rear and raised at front: A drive-up bevel is formed, which enables the excavator to navigate onto the platform trailers from behind. The distance between the ground and the platform elevation at rear is bridged with drive-up wedges. When the excavator has reached its scheduled position, the transport system of Intercombi vehicles will be levelled back to drive elevation.With the hydrostatic-driven SCHEUERLE heavy duty transport combination, the West Australian customer Griffin Coal Mine Company receives a very flexible transport system, which enables an efficient, fast and reliable transport of heavy machines or ulterior equipments of strip mining companies.
