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In lugnet.trains, Roy Gal writes:
> Hi all,
> I just posted pics of an interesting vehicle I am hoping to build. It is a
> special rail-mounted vehicle for picking up and moving the giant radio
> antennas of the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico. The
> pics are at
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=23734
>
> In real life, it has interesting functionality:
> 1. The flat platform area is raised by hydraulics to contact the bottom of
> the metal antenna supports so it can be lifted off the cement piers.
> 2. The vehicle has 4 separate bogeys. It runs on two parallel PAIRS of
> tracks, and is capable of turning 90 degrees.
Do you mean 2 pairs (4 tracks, 8 rails) or just 4 rails (2 tracks, or 1
pair of tracks)??? The picture only shows 1 pair of tracks (in each
direction... there's another pair running the other way)
Neat device, thanks for sharing!
> 3. The 90 degree turn is achieved by going to the center of a crossing which
> looks like
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> and lifting the entire body slightly off the ground with hydraulics,
> rotating the individual bogeys 90 degrees, and lowering back onto the
> perpendicular track. So, the actual body of the machine doesn't turn, just
> the bogeys!
>
> Maximum speed with the 250-ton dish on board is 4mph. As you can see, each
> bogey has 3 pairs of wheels. There is a generator on board so that the
> electronic refrigeration for the detectors on the antenna can be kept
> running while the antenna is being moved. If I recall correctly, they
> perform 40 hours of maintenance for each hour of use!
>
> I don;t know when I'll get around to actually building this behemoth, so if
> you think its interesting, go for it!
>
> Roy
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 | | An interesting building idea...
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| Hi all, I just posted pics of an interesting vehicle I am hoping to build. It is a special rail-mounted vehicle for picking up and moving the giant radio antennas of the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico. The pics are at (URL) (...) (22 years ago, 20-Aug-02, to lugnet.build, lugnet.town, lugnet.trains)
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