Plant, Machinery and Equipment
The Panel Lifter system revolutionises the method of removing, moving and installing rail panels.
Australia forms big part of global plans Innovative equipment from McCulloch Group is coming onstream in Australasia, with benefits for safety and productivity. Unipart Group Australia is on a mission. A mission to bring about safety and productivity efficiencies and improvements with the use of innovative rail construction and maintenance equipment from McCulloch Group. Matthew Lloyd is the director of McCulloch Business Development at Unipart Group Australia Pty Ltd. Unipart Group is the global distributor and manufacturer for McCulloch, an entity formed around three decades ago, whilst McCulloch Group has been supplying products and services into the construction market across the United Kingdom for the past 25 years, and most recently has sought out a partner to expand globally. “We see Australasia as a significant growth market with the existing products that we have,” Lloyd said. “The core products already held in stock within Australia are the TRTs (Trac Rail Transposers) and the McCulloch Panel Lifters, with other products coming into the market late 2021/early 2022.”
22 | ISSUE 9 - OCTOBER 2021 | RAIL EXPRESS
KEY MCCULLOCH PRODUCTS INCLUDE: TRT: The TRT is a remote controlled, rubber tracked machine suitable for use on rail infrastructure, underground track and light rail networks. The rubber tracks mean versatility with no conversion required for operation on different track gauges as experienced across Australia. The TRT is 2.3 metres long, 1.8 metres in width, 1.6 metres in height and weighs less than 1.4T making it a compact and easily transportable unit allowing for rapid deployment and operation in limited access locations, such as live OHW environments. A pair of TRTs can be used to move any length of rail up to 220m long and transport, remove and install associated iron work such as switches and crossings. The TRT has been in operation in Australia since early 2020 with numerous sales throughout 2021, making it the most popular product in the McCulloch product range. Panel Lifter: The Panel Lifter system revolutionises the method of removing, moving and installing rail panels swiftly and safely with greater efficiency in comparison to all
other methods. The Panel Lifters are remote control operated in pairs with a combined lifting capacity of 18T, or approximately 25m concrete sleeper track panel. Panel Lifter machines can also be operated in multiples to allow removal and installation of longer length track panels. TCT: The TCT (Trac Cable Transporter) is a recent development which aims to transform the way large cable runs are deployed and cable laid within the railway Infrastructure. The TCT allows large lengths of cable to be laid safely and efficiently compared to traditional methods. The TCT can work with various types and sizes of cable drums up to 2000kg in weight and 1700mm in diameter. FLASS: The FLASS (Fine Line and Sleeper Spacer) is a beam accessory to the Panel Lifter and enables the accurate movement, alignment and spacing of up to fifteen sleepers per lift. Due to the unique operation of the two-lift beam, the need for handling, barring, spacing or fine lining is eliminated.
