Ballast tractor

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Scammell ballast tractor at the Torbay Steam Fair in August 2007. Note the front drawbar connection coupling for pushing heavy loads
Scammell ballast tractor at the Torbay Steam Fair in August 2007. Note the front drawbar connection coupling for pushing heavy loads
Atkinson ballast tractor at the Torbay Steam Fair in August 2007. Note the front drawbar connection coupling for pushing heavy loads
Atkinson ballast tractor at the Torbay Steam Fair in August 2007. Note the front drawbar connection coupling for pushing heavy loads
Pickfords ballast tractor with exceptional load on specialist trailer. The tractor is a Scammell, and is connected to the trailer via a drawbar.
Pickfords ballast tractor with exceptional load on specialist trailer. The tractor is a Scammell, and is connected to the trailer via a drawbar.

A ballast tractor is a heavy haulage road vehicle designed to pull or push heavy or exceptional loads. Unlike the tractor unit from an articulated trailer, the ballast tractor is designed or adapted to pull or push loads from a drawbar. By contrast an articulated tractor unit pulls from a fifth wheel, and only pushes when reversing its load.

Ballast tractors may have all wheel drive, or any useful combination of driven axles.

Contents

[edit] Derivation of the name

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The name ballast is derived from the nautical term (see sailing ballast) describing heavy material added to a vessel to improve stability. In the case of a ballast tractor, weight must be added over the driving wheels to increase the available tractive effort. The weight increases the friction between the tyres and the road surface. Without such ballast, the tractor would be unable to overcome the inertia of a heavy trailed load, and its wheels would rotate without generating forward motion.

[edit] Manufacturers

[edit] UK

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[edit] Users

[edit] UK

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Apart from being used by fairgrounds as a direct replacement for the steam powered showman's engine, specialist moving and haulage companies use ballast tractors. These include:

[edit] Variations

When deployed as a showman's engine, many users mount a separately powered generating set on the rear of the ballast tractor, which is used to power the fairground attractions. The platform is convenient, and is as if designed for the unit. The pure ballast tractor used in general haulage is not thus equipped.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Thimbleby & Shorland - COMMERCIAL VEHICLES SPARES and ACCESSORIES MEMORABILIA, MODELS, LITERATURE PICTURES and PRINTS AUCTION SATURDAY 25th MARCH 2006 (pdf) 16 (2006-03-25). Retrieved on 2007-09-14. “This very smart tri axle [Scammell Junior Constructor] ballast tractor was one of six supplied new to Pickfords in 1958.”
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