AussieJimbo Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) Hi All, Here is the update to my earlier B-Double Tanker. I'm pleased to present the Octan Road Train. I've also attempted a long nose prime mover in response to suggestions I received. But first, in order to have a road train, you need dollies to haul the extra trailers. I found this useful reference pic on a retailer's website in Western Australia. 2010 Tefco Tri-Axle Dolly The resulting LEGO Tri-Axle Dolly. So with the dolly design done it was time to put the road train together but there was a problem. My existing tri-axle trailer did not have adequate clearance for the dolly. This required rotating the hose reel 90 degrees and relocating the trailer support two studs back. With that sorted it was simply a matter of adding the socket joints to the trailers to attach the dolly drawbars and I was done. Here are my photos of the completed road train and some reference pics for comparison. From wikipedia:- Northern Territory AB-Quad tanker road train. Trailer arrangement is B-double towing two tri-axle trailers. I haven't got around to a tri-drive prime mover yet but I think the existing rigs can handle it. If you look carefully at this one, also from wikipedia, you can see that unlike the first pic this road train has the two trailers with dollies up front, followed by a B-Double at the end. Here are some side-on shots of the road train components. The B-Double components still in their original form and not yet compatible with the dollies. Budget Tri-Axle Dolly. Modified trailer with extra clearance. As last trailer doesn't have a socket joint installed, it can still have a ladder. And a shot of all the prime movers, tankers and dollies from above. Feedback and suggested tweaks welcome. I hope you like it. Click images for larger versions. :classic: Edited January 10, 2011 by AussieJimbo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
L@go Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) I like the longnose much more than the stubby one, for one simple reason - I don't like the stacked look of the roof that you get with those wedge roof pieces on top of each other. You've got a much better roof on the cab with the longnose solution. Plus it looks very much like your reference picture. These beasts are a fascinating Aussie phenomenon. Try driving something like that on the roads along Norwegian fjords, and you'd get stuck in no time :) Edited January 10, 2011 by L@go Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lightningtiger Posted January 10, 2011 AWESOME 'AussieJimbo', now you are like me showing the rest of the world what's different in the land of Oz ! The long nose prime mover is the better one to go with, excellent dolly too ! These kind of truck combos travel usual between Port Augusta in South Australia right up through the Northern Territory to Darwin via Alice Springs.....if my memory serves correct ! Excellent work 'AussieJimbo' and totally Brick On ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AussieJimbo Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) Thanks LT and L@go. There are no roads like that where these things go. I'm glad you like the new prime mover. :-) In case you think this is a long road train, check this out: From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_train: World's longest road trains - In 1989, a trucker named "Buddo" tugged 12 trailers down the main street of Winton, Queensland. - In 1993 "Plugger" Bowden took the record with a 525 hp Mack SuperLiner pulling 16 trailers, but a few months later this effort was surpassed by Darwin driver Malcolm Chisholm with a 290 tonne, 21 trailer rig extending 315 metres. - There was some back and forth in the 1990s between Winton and Bourke, New South Wales, with the record finishing in Winton with 34 trailers. - In 1999 the town of Merredin, Western Australia officially made it into the Guinness Book of Records, when Marleys Transport made a successful attempt on the record for the world's longest road train. The record was created when 45 trailers, driven by Greg Marley, weighing 603 t (1,330,000 lb) and measuring 610 m (2,000 ft) were pulled by a Kenworth 10x6 K100G for 8 km. - On October 19, 2000, Doug Gould set the first of his records at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, when a roadtrain made up of 79 trailers, measuring 1,018.2 m (3,341 ft) and weighing 1,072.3 t (2,364,000 lb), was pulled by a Kenworth C501T driven by Steven Matthews a distance of 8 km. - On March 29, 2003, the record was surpassed near Mungindi, New South Wales, by a road train consisting of 87 trailers and a single prime mover (measuring 1,235.3 m (4,053 ft) in length). - The record returned to Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, on October 17, 2004, when Doug Gould assembled 117 trailers for a total length of 1,445 m (4,741 ft). The record nearly didn't fall, as the first prime mover's main driveshaft broke when taking off. A second truck was quickly made available, and pulled the train a distance of 1,500 m (4,921 ft). - In 2004, the record was again broken by a group from Clifton, Queensland which used a standard Mack truck to pull 120 trailers a distance of about 100 metres. - On February 18, 2006, an Australian built Mack truck with 112 semi-trailers, 1,300 t (2,865,980 pounds) and 1,474.3 metres (4,836 ft 11 in) long, pulled the load 100 metres (328 feet) to recapture the record for the longest road train (multiple loaded trailers) ever pulled with a single prime mover. It was on the main road of Clifton, Queensland, that 70-year-old John Atkinson claimed a new record, pulled by a tri-drive Mack Titan. :classic: Edited January 10, 2011 by AussieJimbo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XimenaPaulina Posted January 11, 2011 That thing is loooong! Great work on this one AussieJimbo! I'll echo the sentiments above that the longnose truck looks much better than the other one (which is also good). The tri-axe dolly is a nice addition to your B-Double Tanker. Keep it up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lostdriveway Posted January 11, 2011 man that thing is freaking awesome! I want one!!! oh and nice job with the new Prime Mover too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Section8 Posted January 11, 2011 Those are very impressive, detailed models. What's a tri-drive, a prime mover with 3 drive axles? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AussieJimbo Posted January 11, 2011 (edited) Great work on this one AussieJimbo! I'll echo the sentiments above that the longnose truck looks much better than the other one (which is also good). The tri-axe dolly is a nice addition to your B-Double Tanker. Keep it up! man that thing is freaking awesome! I want one!!! oh and nice job with the new Prime Mover too! Thanks guys, I'm pleased the new prime mover is getting a good reception. That thing is loooong! Yeah, it ended up as 124 studs long. Plenty of room in the outback. Those are very impressive, detailed models. What's a tri-drive, a prime mover with 3 drive axles? Cheers mate. Yes, a tri-drive prime mover has three driven axles like the Shell truck in the reference picture above. :classic: Edited January 11, 2011 by AussieJimbo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeedrik Posted January 11, 2011 Nice Moc! Its really an improvement since last time. Then it was more like a double tanker than a road train but now it really looks good and reallistic (but i've never seen a roadtrain In Real Life) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vgsprites Posted January 11, 2011 What a Beautiful road train! Can't wait to see it in action. Too bad they aren't needed here in the states. It seems like it when I used to live in rural Nevada. All i got to see was doubles and triples. Great job AussieJimbo! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AussieJimbo Posted January 11, 2011 Thanks, fredrik and vgsprite. I'm glad you like it. What a Beautiful road train! Can't wait to see it in action. Cheers mate. Wouldn't be great if you could bring it to life with some motors and steering but I think that's beyond Lego technology. You may have heard of "Minature Wonderland", a massive model train layout in Germany. They have a system which controls road vehicles which travel about the streets. I'd like to look into it and see if there is any feasibility of hacking it into a Lego context. :classic: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mpec82 Posted January 11, 2011 I prefer the long nose too, the other one is too much european imho. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AussieJimbo Posted January 12, 2011 Cheers mpec82. Yeah, the long-nose is much more likely for hauling a road train. However the cab-over design is quite common over here for standard rigs and B-Doubles. During my holiday travels I saw more of these than long-noses (I was nowhere near a road-train area though). Perhaps we buy lots of Euro trucks over here. I'll have to keep a more detailed eye out next time I'm on the road. :classic: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
5150 Lego Posted January 12, 2011 Very impressive road train you have there my friend. As others have said, the long nose tractor looks much better than the cab over. The attention to detail is great. Ever seen this? Might help in making future road train mocs. I'm currently making a B-double of a couple Ferrari Scuderia transport trucks. Should be done in a day or so. Again, great work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buddy Posted January 12, 2011 Excellent MOC! It is realistic and detailed. The size of it is very impressive. Very well done. ~buddy~ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ralph_S Posted January 12, 2011 (edited) AussieJimbo, I'm glad to see you went ahead with the long-nose truck. I built a LEGO road train together with a friend of mine a few years ago and that had a prime mover based on a long-nose Ford LTL 9000 with a tri-drive. COE trucks might not be unusual nowadays -I don't know- but when I think of a road train I think of a long-nose truck based on an American design. Your model captures that look nicely. Cheers, Ralph Edited January 12, 2011 by Ralph_S Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AussieJimbo Posted January 12, 2011 Thanks buddy and 5150 Lego, I really appreciate your feedback. Ever seen this? Yeah, it's a useful graphic. There are a couple similar to example "K" that run long round trips on a private mining road in WA. It's got a powered trailer midway through the road train. I'm currently making a B-double of a couple Ferrari Scuderia transport trucks. Should be done in a day or so. Again, great work! Cool. I look forward to seeing that. :classic: AussieJimbo, I'm glad to see you went ahead with the long-nose truck. I built a LEGO road train together with a friend of mine a few years ago and that had a prime mover based on a long-nose Ford LTL 9000 with a tri-drive. COE trucks might not be unusual nowadays -I don't know- but when I think of a road train I think of a long-nose truck based on an American design. Your model captures that look nicely. Cheers, Ralph Thanks mate. That's a nice road train you've got there too. I'll have a more detailed look at it after work. :classic: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Guy Bri Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) Great Road Train MOC AussieJimbo! Thanks for the interesting facts on them too. I've always been fascinated by these monster trucks. One question, what is the regulatory max number of trailers being pulled on non-record breaking days? Keep up the awesome work! Kudos on the new info. Post the link of the video if you find one Edited January 15, 2011 by Leg Godt Gud Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AussieJimbo Posted January 14, 2011 Great Road Train MOC AussieJimbo! Thanks for the interesting facts on them too. I've always been fascinated by these monster trucks. One question, what is the regulatory max number of trailers being pulled on non-record breaking days? Keep up the awesome work! Thanks mate, I'm glad you like it. I guess I probably have crossed the line from MOD to MOC now, still trying to learn the rules around here. I believe the limit on the public road (within the boundary where road trains are allowable) is four trailers (variations of H above, I'm not sure if they have to include a B-Double in the train or not). The longer one I mentioned earlier, with an additional powerplant mid-way along (somewhat similar to K but not exactly), has 6 trailers and runs on a private mining road. I'll see if I can track down a video of it on Youtube. :classic: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_spock Posted January 16, 2011 Awesome job. Love the length of the road train. We have A+B trains over here with 53' semi-trailers and they're not too easy to pass on the highway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peterab Posted January 23, 2011 I really like how the various pieces of your roadtrain match each other. Its a great build AussieJimbo Awesome job. Love the length of the road train. We have A+B trains over here with 53' semi-trailers and they're not too easy to pass on the highway. I'm in Victoria, so the south eastern more populated end of Australia, but I used to ride my motorbike to and from work along one of the freeways where the only B triples were allowed here. Those things create a huge backwash of air and riding a bike anywhere near them was exiciting, and not necessarily in a good way. However the drivers were some of the most predictable on the road. I doubt anybody but the most calm and experienced drivers get a license for a triple. They would almost invariably signal me when it was safe to pass. I think they probably got used to seeing me trying to struggle past them on my 250. I always tried to stay where I could be seen by the driver too for everybody's peace of mind. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AussieJimbo Posted January 23, 2011 (edited) Awesome job. Love the length of the road train. We have A+B trains over here with 53' semi-trailers and they're not too easy to pass on the highway. I really like how the various pieces of your roadtrain match each other. Its a great build AussieJimbo Thanks very much dr_spock and peterab, I'm glad you like it. I haven't seen one in real life but I'd imagine passing them is a challenge. You'd hope the drivers are skilled and experienced. At some stage I'll do one more build of a tanker prime mover and trailer as suggested by an earlier poster and then that will be the Octan tanker truck variations put to bed. :classic: Edited January 23, 2011 by AussieJimbo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erlogerik Posted January 8, 2015 Hello all, I am a new member to this forum. Well that's a great MOC you got there! Have you considered posting it in https://ideas.lego.com/ ? It would make a great Lego set, I would definitely support you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CityBuilder Posted January 9, 2015 Awesome road train! Very cool idea. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
droomangroup Posted January 10, 2015 love it! but being an aussie rig, you need a roo guard on that longnose :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
