Howard Shanks•13 Sept 2017

REVIEW

2017 Kenworth T950 Legend: Heavy Haulage Review

Name: 2017 Kenworth T950 Legend: Heavy Haulage Review
Brand: Kenworth

If ever you needed proof that this Kenworth lived up to its name, read on…

In case you're wondering, it's a Dragline bucket – the biggest in the world, in fact. Shifting it the 1400 kilometres from factory to machine was no normal transport task, which is why I recently joined Miers Bros Heavy Haulage for the three-day expedition into central Queensland's coalfields.

It's shortly after midnight, very early Monday morning; the moon struggles to show its face through towering banks of dark cumulus. Chris Miers, Managing Director of Miers Bros Heavy Haulage, and driver Steve Vidler were met by pilot driver Graham Smith at the Ipswich factory of mining component manufacturer, Bradken.

The humidity preceding another tropical low pressed in on the senses, making everything feel heavy and slow. Under the soft glow of nearby security lights and with the aid of the wandering beam of their Dolphin torches, Steve sets about connecting his classic T950 Kenworth prime mover to the loaded platform trailer. This was the final stage in a logistical exercise that required more than your average level of attention to detail.

Precision planning

"It takes around two months to plan for a job like this," Miers explained.

"There's quite a lot involved as you can imagine, from the equipment through to the escorts, which includes the police, the power companies and various governmental departments. Then we have to co-ordinate all of these people together at the one time…"

When asked what sort of permits were required, Chris smiled and asked how long we planned to make the article – suffice to say, there are a lot of them.

Miers Bros Heavy Haulage Pty Ltd is one Queensland's premier over-dimensional specialised carriers. After a quick rundown of the firm's equipment specs it's obvious it's definitely into the serious end of the heavy haulage transport business. It is, like many Australian companies, one that started from humble beginnings, by Chris's father, Snow, and steadily grew due to his reputation for reliable service and for going the extra mile.

That same meticulous attention to detail and reliable service for which Snow was so renowned still forms the core of today's operation.

Part of providing that reliable service is down to the relationship and aftersales service Chris enjoys from local Kenworth dealer Brown & Hurley, and from the durability of Kenworth's trucks.

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Another Legend is born

Miers Bros, Brown & Hurley and Kenworth have a long and entwined history that began in the mid-'70s, when Snow purchased a second-hand K100, followed by a couple of SARs. At the time of writing, the Miers Bros fleet is made up of 26 heavy-duty Kenworths, along with various configurations of trailing equipment ranging from standard low-loader-style trailers to eight rows of eight platforms and jinkers.

A little over a week before, on what turned out to be the hottest day the Brisbane area had experienced in almost a century, Chris and Steve had loaded the dragline bucket. It had sat there for the past week waiting for some of the wildest storms in decades to dissipate. Now, with the wheels about to turn, news filtered through that yet another depression was developing into a late-season cyclone.

Storms a'brewin'

Originally it was planned to leave at around 2.00am following the loading. Unfortunately, fierce storms had caused power blackouts all through the metropolitan area, stretching the power company's manpower to the limit. Qualified power personnel were part of the logistics of this move – they were needed to lift power lines along the route – so the move had to be delayed.

"You can imagine the headlines if people saw a crew lifting wires for our shift when a lot of them couldn't even boil the kettle!" Chris explained.

As it panned out, Chris had to organise a private company to lift the power lines, the only catch being a whole new set of permits had to be drawn up.

"Thankfully it's not raining," Chris commented, looking skywards as rotating amber lights strobed into life.

The progress to the Peak Downs mine was to prove painstakingly slow; in some cases there were up to six power lines that needed lifting within a hundred metres, and the truck was reduced to a slow crawl.

People were drawn open-mouthed from homes and businesses all along the route. Without exception all commented on the bucket's extraordinary size, some even inventing new expletives to underscore their awe.

That's not a bucket…

The bucket, with a capacity of 126 cubic metres, is currently the largest in the world and was manufactured under licence by Bradken. Bradken markets a range of ESCO ground-engaging products to the mining, construction and earthmoving industries. Smorgon Steel Group is responsible for administering the licence to market and distributes the ESCO product range throughout the Australasian region. The business manages the stringent quality and service standards set by its licensor, the ESCO Corporation of Oregon, USA. These standards are integrated with Australian quality standards to ensure all products perform to the customer's expectations.

It was late in the afternoon when Steve guided his T950 into a parking bay opposite the BP roadhouse at Biggenden, west of Maryborough; he and Graham would camp here for the night.

Steve's a man of few words, "Yep", "Nah" and "Right-oh" usually sufficing, but he was kind enough to fill us in on a bit of history. While the dragline that this bucket was going on, a Bucyrus 2570WS, is currently the largest operating dragline in the world, some years back there was a larger machine – a 4250W – operating in the USA for the Ohio Power Co's Muskingum mine. Aptly dubbed 'Big Muskie', it was the world's largest mobile land machine. It weighed 13,000 tonnes when operational; its boom extended 148.6 metres and it had a bucket capacity of 168 cubic metres.

The Bucyrus 2570WS dragline at Peak Downs is no slouch either, weighing in at 7771 tonnes with a fully loaded bucket.

Ready to rumble

A little before dawn the flick of a striking match broke the stillness of the morning and Graham fired up the gas burner on the back of the platform trailer to brew coffee. By the time the sun peered over the horizon the two policemen rostered to escort Steve for the day had arrived. Steve was closing the bonnet after checking that his 600hp engine had plenty of fluids, when the power guys turned up.

It's not surprising with loads of this size that they are restricted to daylight travel only. And it's something that Steve cites as a bonus.

"At least you can always be assured of a good night's sleep," he said with a smile.

With little more than a quick "Right-oh" over the CB, the procession got underway, Graham out in front followed by the lead police car ambling slowly along to warn on-coming traffic. Meantime, the power crew were scurrying along from power line to power line, with telescopic poles to lift the lines so that Steve could pass underneath.

In most driving jobs a driver finds his rhythm out on the open highway and settles into a steady pace with time to relax and enjoy the drive. But there's none of that here for Steve; his vigilant eyes watch every guide post, every bridge rail and, of course, all those power lines.

It's not until you see a driver like Steve maneuvering his Kenworth T950 and its massive trailing unit through the narrow streets of a bustling rural town that you fully recognise the enormous skill, honed through years of experience, that mark a truly professional truck driver.

Maiden outing

Steve picked up the Kenworth T950 Legend from Kenworth's Bayswater factory in Melbourne. He told us that when he first saw it he thought he might be in for a rough ride on the 1700km trip back to Brisbane, bob-tail.

"The rear end is pretty well beefed up so we can carry big weights," Steve explained.

"It has the wider version of the Kenworth six-rod rear suspension with these heavy-duty Meritor diffs, so I thought it'd be a bit rougher than most trucks when they're bob-tail. But I was really impressed with the ride and the handling of it straight off the factory line."

Steve and boss Chris both believe that driving the trucks from the factory to the dealership settles them in so when they're put to work after the final dealer delivery, they get into the task with ease.

Three days after leaving the outskirts of Brisbane, Steve wheeled the Kenworth through a set of open gates and into the Peak Downs coal mine. Seconds later a small party of 4WDs pulled up and an enthusiastic sea of hardhats emerged.

Interestingly enough, the fuel economy of this run averaged 1.2km/lt, which Steve said surprised him given the bucket was like a big parachute.

"Did you have any troubles?" one of the men asked, climbing up the steps of the truck. Steve, with his usual verbosity, simply replied, "No". But then, for Steve, this type of move is all in a day's work.

Kenworth T950 Legend specifications

Engine: Cummins ISXe5

Horsepower: 550 to 578hp

Torque: 1850lbft at 1200rpm

Gearbox: Eaton Fuller RTLO22918B

Air cleaner: Dual Cyclopacs with raised air rams

Fuel filter: Fuel Pro and fuel/water separator

Electrical: 160A isolated alternator and power distribution box

Front axle: Meritor MFS73, 7.3t

Front suspension: 7.2t multi-leaf

Power steering: TRW Ross TAS 85

Rear axles: Meritor RT52-185 tandem drive with diff locks to both axles