The Fuso Canter 4×4 has shown its flexibility with the first rail conversions carried out on 20 trucks in London, adding hydraulically lowerable railway wheels ahead of the front axle and behind the rear axle.
According to Fuso, the 6.5-tonne Fuso trucks with crew cabs are capable of carrying a full maintenance crew plus a load and equipment both on the road and on the rails, where London-based Network Rail is using them for track maintenance and repairs.
The low vehicle level reportedly meant the additional railway wheels can be installed with ‘relatively little’ adaptation work, which was carried out by specialist bodybuilder Gos Tool & Engineering in Blaenavon (South Wales).
In addition to the railway wheels, six vehicles were equipped with a crane body to render them capable of lowering and lifting the heavy sleepers and rails during track maintenance work.
The other 14 vehicles were equipped with a box body to carry all the tools required for welding work.
The canters boast a four-cylinder diesel engine with a displacement of 2998 cc3 and an output of 129 kW (175 hp) at 3500 rpm. The engine torque is 430 nM available from 1600 rpm.