Two of the most heavy duty road rail excavators available in the market have recently been delivered to John Dixon Plant hire Rail division in Co. Westmeath by Sleator Plant Ireland, a division of Ballvesey Holding.
The 29-tonne Gigarailer, built to one of the highest railroad safety standards in the world, are based on a Terex Atlas upper body and not only boast exceptional stability, but also can lift loads of up to 15 tonnes.
Sleator Plant Ireland’s Area Manager Peter Hanlon tells us the specialist machines are already in services for Irish Rail. “There are really very few machines out there that have the lifting capacity of these Gigarailer’s. They are capable of lifting 60ft rail panels, while keeping within safety guidelines. Currently there are around 12 of them working across the Republic.”
John Dixon acquired the machines to carry out crucial contracts with Irish rail where heavy lifting capacity is vital. The Gigarailer’s are fitted with heavy duty road axles, densely filled chassis weights and counterweight along with specially engineered soft foam fill super-single tyres, have already been working on railway lines in the Kildare area and at Tara Mines on the outskirts of Navan.
To produce the Gigarailer, Terex called on the expertise of Rexquote, manufactures of a comprehensive range of conversions and products to suit the needs of railway maintenance companies.
“Terex make a low ride machine, but it is no longer a relevant machine for the UK or Irish market, and their high ride machines are not made to suit the rail gauge of 1.6 meters, so Terex decided to go into partnership with Rexquote to produce three different models, a super-, Mega- and a Giga-,” explains Peter.
The Superailer comes in at 21 tonnes, but the real bread and butter machine is the mega, which comes in at 24 tonne.
“It is a lighter version of the Gigarailer and is more ideal for general utilities work, it can also be easily transported on a low loader trailer,” says Peter.
“We see great potential in the marketplace for the Megarailer and we are well placed here to meet that anticipated demand once the economy picks up as there is funding already earmarked to upgrade the rail Network in the Republic”.
New Standards
Peter says the railways sector is where ‘significant growth’ is expected when the Irish economy improves. “We are at a point in the rail industry where new standards are coming in and the majority of machines out there will not meet those standards, so those with older machinery will have to update them,” says Peter.
The Gigarailer’s are pretty much regarded as the ultimate machine, complying with all current and anticipated rail standards. They will easily lift and carry 12 ton over the fixed axle on the open road, and for rail are even more impressive. They are fitted with twin cabs to allow the machine controllers to travel to and from site in the cab with the operator.
Power comes from a 126 hp Deutz water cooled turbocharged diesel engine. The machines have a load sensing hydraulic system delivering 380 litres/min @ 340bar. The height and slew limiting system is controlled via touch screen to ensure complete safety at a practical level.
Big Potential
“They are a fantastic lifting machine, but there is now a limited market in Ireland for Gigarailer’s, so we see the lighter Megarailer having a greater potential. It is better ‘off road,’ is easier to transport from site to site, it is lighter on tyres, more fuel efficient and pretty versatile, although it does not have the lift capacity of the Gigarailer’s. I think the Gigarailer’s has the reputation of a reliable and good performer with the Irish contractors, when the economy picks up I think the Megarailer will be a huge success in the industry.”
The machines Feature a manual rpm and manual slew brake, features that are attractive to the driver, allowing him more control over operations. An advanced easy to use graphic display unit also gives the driver the confidence to carry out the big lifts knowing the machine will retain the sure footedness that it has become so well known for.
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