LAST OF THE LINE
The fortunes of ALE (Abnormal Load Engineering) were founded on a 240-ton gross train weight Scammell Contractor prime mover acquired in 1983. In 2014, ALE unveiled what can legitimately be considered grandsons of Scammell – the first of six ballasted 8x8 super-tractors, the design of which is designated the 8870 Trojan.
The inclusion of the word ‘Engineering’ in the name of the Staffordshire headquartered business is not hyperbole. Vastly more than a heavy indivisible load road transport operator, its in-house engineering team is credited with cranes and other specialised heavy lift equipment with capacities of up to 5,000 tonnes. So – very serious heavy lifters.
The same engineering talent was responsible for its state-of-the-art 500-tonnes GTW Trojans. The sad fact is, they are likely to be the last-ever heavy trucks built by a British-owned business: earlier this year, ALE became part of Mammoet, Europe’s other heavylift titan. So, quite literally, the last of the line.
If there had been no Scammell, there would have been no Trojan – its design was evolved from Unipower’s prototype MH8875 high-mobility main battle tank/military heavylift 8x8 tractor, conceived and built in Watford by ex-Scammell engineers.
The Unipower was rejected by the Blair/ Brown Government in favour of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) outsourcing deal. This was awarded in 2001 to a consortium led by US support facilities group KBR
