Fuso Canter conquers road and rail

A 4x4 Fuso Canter sourced through CJD Equipment is now hard at work on Tasmania's rugged West Coast Wilderness Railway.

The route sees three steam engines ferrying tourists between Queenstown and Strahan, the line traversing densely wooded country and arduously steep terrain.

Now, however, a Canter can be seen on the line, performing a variety of tasks from general maintenance to clearing the route of fallen trees, branches and debris.

Thanks to its dual-range transfer case, the Canter can travel either on the rails or via the tracks that traverse the region. The going is harsh and the relatively short railway line features no fewer than 40 bridges.

West Coast Wilderness Railway Manager Rail Operations, Adrian Horton, says the organisation made do with a couple of old used Mazda trucks from the 1980s, but they were due for replacement.

"It's a harsh environment down here that is tough on trucks and they weren't going to last much longer, so we decided to invest in new trucks," he says.

"We chose the 4x4 because we have one track access road that is a real goat track, it’s very steep.

"If you have no 4x4 you might get down, but there is no way you will be getting back up again."

The seven-seat crew-cab Canter is already in use in other regions as a road/rail vehicle given its versatility. It uses a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel connected to a five-speed manual transmission.

The Canter was converted by Aries Rail and features front steel rail wheels that drop down and take over from the rubber-shod Canter wheels. Two rear steel wheels drop down to engage the rails, but power is delivered through the rear wheels of the Fuso.

The Canter starts work at 5:30am, when a crew of five climbs aboard and does a run along the line to check for fallen trees and branches.

It is fitted with a crane and carries various chainsaws, pole saws, an assortment of tools, a 44-gallon drum full of rail fastenings and 10 to 15 sleepers.

It's adjusted to the rigours of the application so well, the business has ordered a second Fuso Canter to assist the railway, with the vehicle due for delivery soon.

The West Coast Wilderness Railway was first built in the 1890s as a way to move material from the Mount Lyall copper mine to the port at Strahan, as there was no road from Queenstown to Strahan until 1932.

The line was closed in 1963 and the owners ripped it up, before it was painstakingly rebuilt as tourist attraction and re-opened in 2003.

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