70-tonner at £32,000.
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rLA1MED to be the largest outfit of
its kind in the world, an articulated vehicle for carrying 70 tons of opencast coal has been produced by the Marion Metal Products Co., of the U.S.A. The semi-trailer is 47 ft. 4 in. long, 12 ft. wide and 13 ft. 6 in. high, with a struck capacity of 95 Cuyd. The Kenworth tractor is 11 ft. 6 in. wide and 12 ft, 5 in. high. The value of the combined units is about 132,000.
Capable of a maximum speed of 34 m.p.h., the vehicle was delivered by road 300 miles from the makers to the Beckley Coal and Coke Co., West Virginia, in three days. With an overall length of 66 ft. 5 in., it will be used on the company's own roads to carry coal from seams high in the mountains to railsiding hoppers seven miles away.
Unladen weight of the semi-trailer is 24 short tons and of the tractor 25 tons, whilst the gross laden weight is 119 tons. Loading of the tractor front axle is 25 tons and of the rear axle 471 tons, whilst the axle of the semi-trailer is rated for 50 tons, This component was forged from a billet 10+ in. square and weighs more than 3 tons.
The semi-trailer took only 60 days to make after preparation. It has two doors underneath, 26 ft. long and 2 ft. wide. They open by gravity and are closed pneumatically. Body sides are of 8-gauge high-tensile steel and other panels are ur to in. thick. The design allows form loadings of up to 5,000 p.s.i.
The connection between the semitrailer and the tractor is stated to be the biggest coupling ever made. It weighs more than a ton and the spindle is 9 in. in diameter. The assembly is constantly lubricated from an oil reservoir.
A Cummins V12 oil engine developing 400 b.h.p. drives through a Twin Disc torque converter and Puffer semi-automatic transmission. Steering is powerassisted.
All brakes, wheels and tyres are interchangeable. The air-operated brakes are 2 ft. 2 in. in diameter and 10 in. wide, and each has eight shoes. The tyres are 18.00-33-in. (32-ply) nylon. Each is nearly 6 ft. in diameter and weighs 9 cwt.