Dual View Dumpers: Application in the Karawanken Tunnel

6 months, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and 1,500 hours in action in total: the dumpers, with nine metric tons of payload, transported material in shift operation on the major construction site of the Karawanken Tunnel. To bring the 115-year-old train tunnel between Austria and Slovenia up to a safe and modern condition, the tunnel is being converted to one track. In addition, the tunnel vault and the portal structures, listed as historic monuments, are being restored, and a contemporary drainage system is being installed. Due to the confined spaces, the executing construction company, Strabag AG, decided on Wacker Neuson’s Dual View Dumpers. In total, just short of 40,000 cubic meters of material were transported out of the tunnel using the dumpers. 

Dual view allows the operator to conveniently and quickly change the seat position through a 180-degree rotation of the entire operator control panel and the seat console. The operator changes the direction of view and the forwards travel direction with the seat position. Time-consuming turning and maneuvering are therefore no longer necessary – a huge advantage in the confined spaces in the Karawanken Tunnel. The operator steers the wheel dumper with the unladen skip in the travel direction into the tunnel, loads it with a full view of the loading area and, after a 180-degree rotation of the seat, drives away again in the same way with a free line-of-sight without having to turn the vehicle. 

Time-tested and proven safety features such as the hydrostatic drive system, the wear-free spring-loaded parking brake, and operation via joystick, which allow the operator to always keep a hand on the steering wheel, ensure the simple and intuitive operation of the Dual View Dumpers.

More information in the video: https://youtu.be/Lp7rvR77PyQ