Road Train

We became aware very quickly of Road Trains during our journey deep into the outback on the way to Ayers Rock from Alice Springs. These immense machines intimidatingly bear down on you from the other direction, making your vehicle look tiny even from a distance as the heat rising off the tarmac does so in waves like transparent flames. You can almost imagine them being from a sci-fi movie where the windscreen is a strip no wider than a ruler against the size of the body, obscuring the view of the driver and making it seem driverless. As big as these non-conformist mavericks are, it is the thick metal bull bars surrounding the front end that increase their menacing look. Essential in their role, they protect the truck and driver from animals dumb enough to get in their way, especially cows, which can weigh in excess of a ton. We saw huge cows, obvious victims of an acceptable hit-and-run, lying dead in ditches at the side of the road after being hit by one of these powerhouses. One can only imagine the force on impact.

Road Trains are a trucking concept used in remote areas of Argentina, Australia, Mexico the United States and Canada to move freight efficiently, although the term ‘Road Train’ is most often used in Australia. Australian Kurt Johansson is recognised as the inventor of the modern road train, but it was the Government of South Australia in the 1930s who started the trend of progression by operating a fleet of military trucks to transport freight and supplies into the Northern Territory, replacing the Afghan Camel Trains trains that had been trekking through the deserts since the late 19th century. Incidentally, camels were originally brought to Australia for their suitability in the desert conditions of the outback where they can last for weeks with no water and can shift up to ten times their own bodyweight for considerable distances. Once machinery began to replace them, owners released the camels into the wild, creating numbers of free-ranging herds. Today it is estimated that there are 500,000 feral camels roaming free in the outback causing havoc to the eco-system as they munch their way through the vegetation. It is comforting to know that Australia still harbours some affection for the odd creatures by keeping some in farms, sanctuaries and zoos while others get to star in annual camel races. Now that’s something I bet you didn’t realise about Australia. Neither did we. Seeing them in herds at the side of the road as you drive by is a bizarre sight, I can tell you.

Anyway, back to the real subject matter of this blog. Road trains transport all manner of materials but common examples are, unsurprisingly, livestock, fuel, mineral ores and general freight. Their cost-effective transport has played a significant part in the economic development of remote areas and some communities are totally reliant on regular service. Today, Australia operates the largest and heaviest road-legal vehicles in the world, with some configurations topping out at close to 200 tonnes. As you can imagine, strict regulations regarding licensing, registration, weights and experience apply to all operators of road trains throughout Australia. Looking at the picture diagram you can see that some of them go on more than David Cameron at Question Time. K represents the largest road trains operating in Australia and, therefore, the world. Sadly we never saw one of these colossal machines. Called a "Powertrain" or a "Body and six", these machines operate at The Granites Gold Mine in the western Northern Territory – a state for which we sadly did not have enough time to explore.