A natural gas fired generating plant is under construction in a nearby town and it was announced that transformers would be transported through our area to it and to expect delays. While running errands in early December I saw them parked at a vacant lumber yard staged for the next leg of the journey so I stopped and took some photos. There were several prime movers and the transformers were on heavy transport trailers, each with a power unit mounted to it. They sat there nearly a month before moving on, we had a couple ice storms which made travel hazardous. I was told these weigh 600,000 pounds each
The axles on the trailer all steer independently and I was told are on a bag suspension that could be collapsed quickly if there should be an emergency of some sort such as runaway. The trailer frame would drop to the ground for an emergency stop. The leg through my town required climbing a mountain we call Wingdale Mountain and they brought in extra prime movers to help with that pull. The hitch was extremely heavy and resembled an early railroad style coupler.
The prime movers were BEEFY!!! Planetary drive on them. They also had a couple standard drive trucks.
They finally made the move early January when they felt the conditions were safe. I positioned myself at the base of the mountain to take videos. Rather than make the turn up the hill they back around the corner on level ground so they could pull the hill straight on. I believe there was a risk of the load toppling if they attempted to turn up the hill. Because of the recent ice storms the road had been salted for ice control. They sent sweepers and a blower on the route to provide optimum traction. They backed the rig around the corner and attached two pushers for the mountain pull Road was swept before the pull
Here's the pull underway. The trailer dragged pavement for about 20 feet which is where the smoke came from. I was concerned it was a malfunction while it was happening. It was about 30 minutes before the trucks returned to get the second rig. The road was closed during this time and it sat on the pavement. About a dozen State Troopers did traffic control. Second transformer pulling the hill. I was told the last pusher forgot to lock his axles and they started hopping. I was concerned of something bad happening and had my escape route planned, this was before I learned the trailer was set up for emergency stops. They had an Oshkosh M1070 as a backup pusher. I was disappointed I didn't get to hear that 8V92 screaming while at work!! It took about 90 minutes to move both units up the mountain. I'm told two more units are coming though in March, I'm going to try to film that as well
That's some pretty impressive iron. I've been around those trailers before, its amazing what they can do, but they sure aren't cheap.
Thanks for sharing. Best post in a long time. Best post of 2025. Speaking of push trucks, I was visiting a client today who is upfitting four new WS 4900x’s into push rigs. I’ll share some pictures as progress occurs.
I loved the cable and tree limb lifters on top.
They had an F150 with a fiberglass mast mounted to it running ahead of the trailers to check clearance. They had several bucket trucks running with them, they would leapfrog each other from one obstruction to the next so there was no stopping or delay from wires. A whole lotta logistics went into this!!
Very cool. Great equipment. Thanks !! We had a transformer move here several years ago and to add to the fun, it came on a train thru Crawford Notch and had to be moved onto the multi tire trailer.
That's awesome Steve thanks for sharing! A lot of specialized trucks and equipment used there. No telling how much that move cost. The cable lifters are far more advanced than the guys down in Costa Rica moving the rice combines through town - they just sit on top of the combine with sticks and push the power lines up and over.
One of the Troopers told me they had trucks loaded with trusses that were placed if they came upon a bridge to cross. There must not have been any on this leg, I didn't get to see it. The route they took wasn't an easy one, this mountain is one of the steepest inclines on both sides in our area and the other side has a couple switchbacks. I'd had liked to have seen them negotiate them but couldn't access it. Local truckers tend to avoid this road due to the chance of brake failure. One might think the best route would be to stay on the State roads, a little longer but much wider and no aggressive curves. There's a cloverleaf interchange where the two meet and I'm guessing that's why they didn't go that route, too heavy for the bridges.
I wonder why they just didn't call for qty (2) xformers of half the size.....
Doug: each transformer has 6 bushings, a tap changer, insulating oil, cooling system and a bunch of instruments for safety. You would have to double that. In addition, there is a feeder isolation switch, circuit breaker, and protective relays on the input side and possibly similar on the output side not to mention the real estate to put all that stuff on. This would be a huge cost so it is cheaper to have 1 big transformer and move it than to have several smaller ones.
really ? Your going to tutor me ? I've worked on our tap changer(s)
Here's a recent one from this side of the Pond. I reckon the design of trailer with the load effectively suspended between two independently-steerable bgoies makes the whole thing a lot more manouverable in tight corners. It also carries the load a lot closer to the ground which ought to be more stable. According to the video the transformer weighed just under 400k pounds but the trailer can carry loads up to 800k. Judging by the choreography they've done this before.......
Sorry Doug. I did not mean to tutor you nor in any way offend you. Please accept my apology. Cam
I had to turn my volume off with all that squealing!!
Had one go past a week ago on the railroad....it was on a 4 truck, drop deck flatcar. No idea on weight. Ed
I was sitting at the Huntington bank in Hastings on Wednesday when I heard police sirens keep blipping and then silence. Then I could hear a heavy diesel laboring under load. I had my window down at the drive through, but I couldn't see the intersection from my position. When I was done, I rolled forward and saw the tail end of a heavy load maneuvering through the intersection, making a right hand turn away from me. Single tractor pulling a specialized trailer, but load was over height and over width and tarped completely. Police were working escort, blocking off the intersection for the trucks. Just as I thought it was over, another identical load pulled up and made the same turn.
Used to see one like that once in awhile going into Erie Press systems. They build and re-build giant presses, like the kind you see stamping auto hoods, and forging press's. IIRC it was 250 tons. A double gooseneck affair, could have been rated at much more, as 250 tons is not really much in the Railroad world.
They moved something similar here in the 90s. They built an oil fired generating plant. They came in by ship, and they used a similar trailer, and I think they had Kenworth trucks. Same type with the planetary drive. Thanks for posting that.
Making progress on the new 49x push trucks. Andrey fabricated a thing for the back of the frame to pin the box to. The front of the box will engage with the 5th wheel.
Push bumper.
You can order the WS with a 16mm frame, without frame horns. The front is square cut and terminated directly behind the front bumper. I don’t have a picture of the brackets that connect the push plate to the frame.
Wait, yes I do. But, the glossy paint and lighting make it hard to make it out.