Massive Wheeled Loaders Part Two: Hitachi - Komatsu - LeTourneau (DVD) - Steven Vale

This is Part Two of a two-DVD set in  which Steven Vale shows examples of wheeled loaders working in  surface mines and quarries in Europe and the UK. He focuses in  particular on the larger, more impressive models.

In this DVD he deals with machines from  Hitachi, Komatsu and LeTourneau.

He starts in Norway at the Titania  ilmenite mine with a 100-tonne LeTourneau L1000. However, this is  dwarfed by the 180-tonne L1400 he tracks down at the  Guarain-Ramecroix limestone quarry, Belgium. It is the largest  LeTourneau wheeled loader in Europe. Its 40-tonne capability means it  can handle around 1,500 tonnes an hour.

In a Carrara marble quarry Steven finds  a Hitachi giant, the 46-tonne ZW550. This uses stone forks to move  blocks of marble of over 30 tonnes up torturously steep tracks.

There are several Komatsu examples in  this DVD, including WA500, 800 and 900. Towering above these is the  Komatsu WA1200 at work in the Norwegian ilmenite mine. This 200-tonne  brute, currently the world’s largest mechanical loader, comfortably  shifts 40-45 tonnes an hour – sometimes more.

The machines in this programme –  among the largest produced by each manufacturer – are superb  workhorses whose size and power are enthralling.

In the companion programme, Part Two,  Steven shows us the largest wheeled loaders from Caterpillar,  Liebherr and Volvo. The two wheeled loaders DVDs are numbers 9 and 10  in the Old Pond Massive Machines series.

Steven Vale is a freelance journalist  based in Holland. He specialises in writing about machinery in the  earthmoving and agricultural sectors. He has prepared nine DVDs and  the book Walking with Giants: Europe's Massive Earthmovers.