Tractor powered

[Mike Hall]

What can i say !!!

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[Graham Shaw]

What can i say !!!

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Thanks Mike! More info-in English.Oh those clever Russians!


How the MTZ-80 tractor became a real car ferry PKR-25T

The tractor is indispensable in agriculture, on the construction site and... in shipping, as it turned out.

No, it is not a pen that carries a tractor, as it may seem at first glance, but the opposite. MTZ-80 is the main (and only) traction force of the vessel. This vehicle was born precisely because of Soviet ingenuity.










The official index is the RPC-25T, and "in the people" it is called "Avtodor". The ferry was built at the Oka shipyard and is designed to transport cars and other goods, with a total weight of no more than 25 tons.



But despite the original purpose, according to the characteristics it is a real dredger. The movement of the ferry is due to the rotation of the paddle wheels (namely the wheels, as in vintage steamships) can overcome shallow water and clogged reservoirs with garbage and snags.








The paddle wheels are driven by a chain transmission from the drive axle of the tractor. One wheel is locked to turn. If necessary, the ferry can be converted back into a tractor and a floating platform with the help of one crane and two people.
The ferry in the photo was built in 1999, it ran to Konakovo until 2015, then it was written off and abandoned on the shore. There was also a very similar ferry with a tractor DT-75, built in 2000, it sailed in Murom and after it became unnecessary (a bridge appeared), went to its native Oka shipyard.

[Malcolm Lawrence]

Here's one a little closer to home in Devon
new-sea-tractor.jpg

[happy daze john in oz]

Was on a similar ferry last year in South Australia, works well and runs 24/7

[Colin Wood]

I seem to remember a Murray River steamer with a tractor engine and gearbox, instead of rear wheels, had shafts to paddle wheels.