Road train
A road train (road train in English), also called a bitren or B-Double (B-Double as these trucks are called in Australia), is a truck designed to serve remote areas and move bulky loads efficiently.
It consists of a relatively conventional truck chassis with cab and engine, which pulls a succession of three or more cargo trailers, a number that can frequently reach twelve or more. It is extremely difficult to maneuver and its safe use is only possible on very straight, low-traffic roads and flat terrain, such as in the Australian Outback.
Upon reaching urban areas, the road trains are dismantled and the cargo trailers are individually coupled to common trucks.
They are used to transport all kinds of goods. Livestock transport is the most common, but also fuel. The economics of their use have played an important role in the development of the remote regions through which they transit. The first prototypes were created in the 1920s by the British Army for its own supply and supply in remote areas of various Commonwealth countries, proving especially effective in Australia. One was purchased by the Australian government to supply and supply remote areas of the Northern Territory in the 1930s and 1940s, replacing the Afghan camel caravans used since the late 19th century. He only had two or three trailers, and with the cab open and the engine fan behind him, the driver and his co-driver were cold in winter and hot in summer.
Rural mechanic born south of Alice Springs Kurt Johannsen (1915-2002) is considered the inventor of the modern road train in the 1950s, after his work with vehicles discarded by the army after World War II, with his truck with three trailers nicknamed "Bertha". These new vehicles were used for all types of cargo and transport, and revolutionized road transport in Australia.
Passing a road train is no easy task, and on some dirt or sand-covered roads, a near impossible task. It takes patience, help from the road train driver and very straight tracks. Drivers generally use their flashing lights for a short time to indicate safe progress, and car drivers, after passing road trains, flash them on one side and then the other to show their appreciation.
Highway trains sometimes travel on paved roads with only one lane, requiring drivers traveling in the opposite direction to leave the paved area to pass.
In 1999 the city of Merredin, Western Australia, entered the Guinness Book of Records by driving a train with 45 units hauled and a total of 603 tons, measuring 610 meters, through 8 km, hauled by a single Kenworth tractor..
In 2003, the record was bested near Mungindi, by a road train with 87 trailers and a single truck driving them (the train was 1,235 meters long).
In 2005 a truck with 105 trailers and 1,442 meters long.
In 2006 a truck with 112 trailers and 1,474 meters long.