Australia’s WA Specialised Transport (WAST) has moved a 200-ton (181.4-tonne) boom, manufactured by thyssenkrupp for a bucket wheel reclaimer, using Scheuerle axle lines.
Measuring 70 m long, the unit is one of the largest booms manufactured by thyssenkrupp. It was moved along Australia’s west coast from the paint shop in Kwinana to Henderson.
To transport the unit, WAST put together two transport platforms – ten WideCombi axle lines and 12 InterCombi axle lines. The boom was supported by special bolsters at its front and rear ends.
The combination measured 78.7 m long, 9.8 m wide and 7.5 m high. The total weight tipped the scales at 300 tons (272.2 tonnes).
WAST’s John Liddelow said: “I chose Scheuerle axle lines because of their low weight…. According to Australian legislation, the wide track allows us to use the maximum payload of the vehicles.”
The convoy took 3.5 hours to cover the 12 km route, manoeuvring around obstacles such as traffic lights, streetlights and high-voltage lines.
From Henderson the boom was shipped to a BHP mining site 1,600 km north where the completed bucket wheel excavator will be used in an ore processing plant.
