Page 10 - Port of Hamburg |Brochure |Port of Hamburg Magazine 2.2021

■ BREAKBULK
For the locomotives, the special low-loader with a total of 14 axle lines is combined into a transporter vehicle with a total length of 68 metres and total weight of 230 tons
10 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | June 2021
Locomotives on voyage
Hamburg is Europe’s leading rail port – and yet some engines do not roll to the quay wall on rail. The rolling stock being transported this year by Universal Transport, the heavy-lift logistics experts, from Kassel in North Hesse to New Jersey, USA, is for example coming to the port by truck.
The pre-carriage of such shipments by road, demands really special equipment, whose design is until today unique in Europe. Universal Transport has always had experience of Hamburg. Through its own branch, the company has been closely connected to both the City and its port for years, guiding a multitude of high- capa- city and heavy shipments in and via Hamburg.
For this job, in the coming months a total of 25 locomo- tives are going on the long voyage from the plant in Kassel over the ‘Pond’ as far as New Jersey. Before they can serve the rail route to New York, they will first be brought to the Port of Hamburg by road. The loco- motives are simply not designed for use on the Ger- man rail network. Their axle load considerably exceeds the maximum. The chassis alone weighs 90 tons. To- gether with its bogeys that will be assembled first in the Port of Hamburg, this adds up to a lordly 130 tons. In addition, the safety technology is geared to the American market and absolutely not permitted in this country.
For over a year, the team from the Universal Transport Group and its subsidiary have been planning and prepa- ring to carry out these complex shipments. Züst & Bachmeier is involved as the project logistics expert for the transport organisation and execution, including responsibility for the discharge in the US port. ‘StB Ver- kehrstechnik’, the transport technology specialists, are carrying out all necessary measures to prepare the rou- te and will be providing the accompanying escort ve- hicles.
The pre-carriage to the Port of Hamburg is being handled by Universal Transport. To achieve this, the corporate fleet has been upgraded with a semi-low- loader designed exclusively for this project. This in- corporates a number of design specifics: Crane tech- nology is unnecessary during loading, since it can be equipped with rail technology so that the rolling stock can be loaded directly via a ramp. They run into the semi-trailer, not onto it. In combination with the spe- cial low-bed design, this facilitates the transport of