Re: 488 goes up the hill part 2

That rig really isn't overkill to keep the axle weight in legal limits. Even if the loco had no water on board, that is 186,200 lbs. Figure about 140,000 lbs for the rig (on the basis of the Schnable type trailers I've dealt with) and that gets your gross weight up to 326,200 lbs. Divide that out over the 19 axles on the rig and you wind up with an average axle loading of 17,168 lbs. Quick and dirty research says that NMDOT has a legal axle load limit of 18,000 lbs, so technically, this is the smallest number of axles allowed to carry the given load.

The roadb surface, roadbed, and bridges can deal with loads in excess of 18,000 lbs per axle, but doing so speeds up the wear on the roadway. Here in Washington, we are allowed to load axles up to 21,500 lbs, and in places where that is done regularly, the wear is evident. The DOT has put in joint locking bars on the concrete panels to extend their life due to the wear.