Large load on the Hume Highway on 8th of July?

According to the Harden-Murrumburrah Express it is a 220 tonne power substation transformer being transported to Wallerawang, near Lithgow.

Transportation
It is important to transport a transformer in the same condition as it was completely assembled, dried and tested at the factory. This makes it possible to ensure high reliability and to shorten the period for on-site installation. A Toshiba transformer is transported in the same upright position as it was in final assembling so that on-site installation becomes very simple, requiring no special operations. While a transformer is in transportation, its main tank is filled with dry air or dry nitrogen to completely prevent the core and coils from absorbing moisture until final on-site oil filling. When extreme transport restrictions are imposed, as in the case of power stations in mountains or when roads are subjected to weight restrictions or when the entrance for underground hoisting is narrow in the case of installation with urban underground substation, the following transport procedure is employed: A threephase transformer is divided into sections so that one-phase section housed in a tank is carried into the site at a time, and the three sections are assembled into the original three-phase transformer at the site. The transformer core and coils are transported to the site in the same condition as it was assembled and tested at the factory, and they are joined to each other using special ducts and leads submerged in oil. When further strict transport restrictions are imposed, a singlephase unit may be divided into two or three sections. Toshiba delivered a 500kV, 680MVA threephase transformer in nine sections – a record-breading product!
http://www.tic.toshiba.com.au/product_brochures_and_reference_lists/ptrans.pdf

Lampson have confirmed the load is a power station transformer

I saw this thing stopped at the side of the road last night, it had pulled over at the top of the hill just east of Harden on Burley Griffin Way. Biggest thing I’ve ever seen on the road.

I’m with caf, based on what we can see and the assumed weight of the load based on the number of trucks/axles it’s got to be a transformer (the electric kind)

This the transport company involved, would either be a crane or part of, or maybe some other massive piece of equipment as they specialise in multivehicle moving.

http://www.lampson.com.au/cms/

It’s a little hard to see, but it looks like a large power transformer on a transportation dolly to me.

I went past about 6.30am just as it was being taken off the road and it still the around 10.30 when I came back. The traffic delays were caused by rubbernecking and there were some near misses.

EvanJames said :

Rawhide Kid Part3 said :

I recon that’s something that could have been transported by rail.

It certainly must have done the road surface a lot of good. years of wear, in one trip.

Movement of large loads is strictly regulated and multi wheeled floats are used to distrubute the load. Also, the low speed compared to a 40 tonne load B Double @ 110kmh does minimal damage to the road bed.

Rawhide Kid Part3 said :

I recon that’s something that could have been transported by rail.

That depends, it might have been of a size that it wouldn’t have been able to make it through turns, tunnels or a passing train on the next track (where doubled). Also depending where it was going to it would probably have thrown out the normal train schedules for freight and passenger.