Australian Road Train Configurations

Ian’s 32 wheeler, triple road train is loaded and ready for departure.

How many road train configurations did you know? How many have you seen?

Australia is a vast and magnificent country with some rural and remote communities thousands of kilometres from the next town.

While rail systems try their best to connect shipping ports with distribution hubs, it’s trucking that connects our cities and towns. With efficient road transport the goal, road trains have famously evolved in Australia to provide some truly spectacular configurations.

With city and town limit restrictions governing truck and trailer lengths (for good reasons - they don’t brake or turn like more agile local trucks!), you may not have seen some of these combinations. Unless of course, you’ve ventured beyond the freeways or come across one as driver and train grumble to life, starting their journey at at dawn or dusk at far edge of town from an industrial estate.

If you have had the chance to see a road train, you’d know: road trains are a truly memorable sight: mightily stretching on, seemingly for days, mechanical behemoths delivering essential supplies, livestock and infrastructure.

“Australia’s vast landscapes and distances are the backdrops to equally spectacular road trains that connect our towns and communities.”

While some road trains are rarer than others, how many of the below configurations have you seen?

How many could you name?

A is a B-double
B is a B-triple
C is a double road train. A "Pocket road train" is similar, but with shorter trailers and dolly drawbar
D is an AB-triple
E is a BAB Quad
F is an ABB Quad
G is triple road train
H is a 2AB Quad
I is a Powertrain

The Powertrain or a "Body and six" represents the represents the largest road trains operating in Australia and the world. These machines operate at the Granites gold mine in the western Northern Territory, and are used in place of 200t dump trucks, because of the distances involved on the haul run. A 600 hp (450 kW) 19 L (1,200 cu in) Cummins engine powers the prime mover, whilst a 400 hp (300 kW) Cummins engine is installed in the rear trailer of the B-double, driving through an automatic transmission, giving a total of 1,000 hp (750 kW). Weights of 460 t (453 long tons; 507 short tons) are achieved with ore loading in side-tipper bodies on a 100 km (62 mi) round trip. As these trucks operate on private property, they’re not subject to public road weight and length rulings.