Where are the B-Trains?

[D-Dey65]

And when I say "B-Train" I don't mean the subway between Coney Island and Bedford Park. I mean the tandem trailers with the first trailer having the rear axles sticking out behind the body for an extra fifth wheel hitch.


https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:B-Trains

I always thought these kinds of tractor trailers would be a lot more common south of the DC Metropolitan Area, where the regulations on truckers are more lenient. But in the past 17 years that I've been on road trips between New York and Florida, I don't remember seeing any of them.

[kurumi]

You probably have to go to Michigan or Washington State. More info:
http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/martin_phippard_trailers.html
http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/dm_b_trains.htm

[leroys73]

Run I-40 west and you'll see plenty.  Even triples.

Texas has them

[Stephane Dumas]

Australia have some "road trains" as they called and more longer then "B-trains".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iFkKRh5kcM

[D-Dey65]

Australia have some "road trains" as they called and more longer then "B-trains".

Well certainly, Australia has them. But I'm talking about on the east coast of the US.

[cpzilliacus]

And when I say "B-Train" I don't mean the subway between Coney Island and Bedford Park. I mean the tandem trailers with the first trailer having the rear axles sticking out behind the body for an extra fifth wheel hitch.


https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:B-Trains

I always thought these kinds of tractor trailers would be a lot more common south of the DC Metropolitan Area, where the regulations on truckers are more lenient. But in the past 17 years that I've been on road trips between New York and Florida, I don't remember seeing any of them.

Long sections of I-95 (especially in North Carolina) are not adequate for such combinations.

I-85 from Atlanta to its northern terminus at I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia might be workable (though it has been a few years since I drove it).

Virginia (if I-295 is used from Petersburg to Henrico County) could probably safely support them, though the congestion north of Fredericksburg is frequently at the level of extreme.  In Maryland (and to a lesser extent Virginia), the Capital Beltway may not be modern enough to support such traffic, though the "between the Beltways" section seems reasonable, as is probably the section through Baltimore City and beyond to the JFK Highway, and into Delaware. I-295 across the Delaware Memorial Bridge brings them to the N.J. Turnpike, which should be able to safely handle them for most of its length. 

So if the Capital Beltway were to get needed bridge redeckings completed and interchange reconstructions done, then Virginia to New Jersey on I-95 seems to be reasonable.  I-85 from Atlanta to Petersburg also might work.  Would there be strenuous opposition to such longer combination vehicles?  Probably yes, especially in Maryland - never mind that longer combination vehicles (LCVs) have a good safety record on the U.S. toll roads that allow them, as well as in some Great Plains and Rocky Mountain States and many (most?) Canadian provinces.

[CanesFan27]

You probably have to go to Michigan or Washington State. More info:
http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/martin_phippard_trailers.html
http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/dm_b_trains.htm

When I was in the building supply industry and was purchasing OSB for the Midwest - I would purchase B-trains to our Michigan locations either out of the Weyerhauser plant in Grayling, MI or out of plants in Ontario.  You could sneak them into Fort Wayne, IN sometimes.

[cl94]

I have seen them occasionally on the New York State Thruway, which allows several combinations of double/triple tandems. B-trains are an allowed type, but are less common than the standard tow bar A-trains.