Unloading of Rail Runner by Crane 31 - Wednesday 9th June 2004

Due to the inaccessible nature of the line from Lyall to Northcliffe, PTCo General Manager, Ian Willis has for some time been chasing a suitable piece of equipment for shifting machinery such as a bulldozer, bobcat or crane etc along the railway without having to hire a truck. PTCo has the equipment necessary for carrying out most of the jobs that need to be done along our railway but getting it to the worksite can be quite difficult. One item of equipment that has been sought after for some time was one of the Rail Runners that were built for and used during the electrification installation of the Perth suburban system to carry cement trucks along the line particularly to areas that were hard to get to conventionally by road. As can be seen from the pictures below, the Rail Runner is long and low with ramps for driving road vehicles on and off.  It is powered by a Duetz diesel engine with a hydraulic drive to the axles and other powered equipment such as the ramps and the Hiab type lifting arm. Currently the machine is mostly complete however it is missing some of the hydraulic pump equipment. At the moment "Rusty" is the motive power for movement around the yard whilst restoration to working order is carried out.

The photo's below show the unloading by 60 ton Cowans Sheldon Crane # 31

Arrival on the truck	Still on the truck
In the air after lifting off the truck and the truck was driven clear	Put down again after truck removal to ensure there was no better way to balance the load
In the air again and being swung around to be put on track	Being lowered onto the track by 31 and held in place by Rusty before being moved to the workshop

Any photographs of the Rail Runner in action during the Electrification of the Perth Suburban system would be gratefully appreciated.

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Send mail to pemtram@wn.com.au  with any questions or comments.