Streakn1
Veteran Expediter
In the expeditng world we all are fortunate to have the honor of hauling some very special and unique frieght. Or at the very least extremely interesting freight. Be it vacines for desease control, a rare art collection, the latest high tech robotic for a state of the art auto assembly line, or a pair of brand new C-17 jet engines for a new Air Force Globemaster Cargo jet that will soon be part of the fleet helping protect our nation, it is all above the norm of what many truckers experience in their driving carreers.
Some, like myself find it fun to share such stories of some of the freight we haul because we believe others will enjoy reading about. With that said:
One of our recent coast to coast runs involved us picking up an empty free turbine stand on the east coast, and then transporting it to a refinery on the west coast. This refinery is one of the largest in the nation, producing propane, butane, bio-diesel, un-leaded gasoline and more, all at one location. It produces its own electric power with two Pratt & Whitney Free Turbines. In fact these two units produce enough power daily that they have extra to sell, making operation of these units even more profitable.
Recently one turbine had to be taken down for emergency repair forcing the refinery to rely on the other and now purchase millions of dollars of electricity each day to maintain production. Also since these turbine are quite old and no longer in production, there are no spares or loners to be had. So it was of the utmost importance that we run non-stop to get this special stand to the refinery, wait all day while they off loaded the stand and mounted the free turbine in the stand, reload it and us run it non-stop back to the east coast where it will quickly be repaired. That is where were are now. Once repaired it will be loaded and rushed back to the refinery and put back on-line.
Let me note that while we were enroute to pick this unit up, the other one began failing, so time is of the essence before this unit fails and they are left without the capability to produce their own power. It is this capability that enables the refineries to keep production cost down and these fuels more afforable to the consumer.
A forum member recently stated on another thread of mine that I always mention how special my freight is. Well maybe, maybe not. What I do is share stories about some of the freight I now haul that I think is special, unique, or at least interesting, and that others would enjoy reading about. Do I feel my freight is any more special than anyone elses? No. Do I believe others on this forum haul freight that is just as or more special, unique, or at least interesting as mine? Heck yea! I only wish more could/would share as we could see more of this unique world of expediting through each other's eyes!
How did an aviation freight hauler end up at a fuel refinery? Pratt & Wittney along with GE also build ground power units for refineries, municipal power plants, and power generation for large ships. All of which we haul along with their jet engines.
Some, like myself find it fun to share such stories of some of the freight we haul because we believe others will enjoy reading about. With that said:
One of our recent coast to coast runs involved us picking up an empty free turbine stand on the east coast, and then transporting it to a refinery on the west coast. This refinery is one of the largest in the nation, producing propane, butane, bio-diesel, un-leaded gasoline and more, all at one location. It produces its own electric power with two Pratt & Whitney Free Turbines. In fact these two units produce enough power daily that they have extra to sell, making operation of these units even more profitable.
Recently one turbine had to be taken down for emergency repair forcing the refinery to rely on the other and now purchase millions of dollars of electricity each day to maintain production. Also since these turbine are quite old and no longer in production, there are no spares or loners to be had. So it was of the utmost importance that we run non-stop to get this special stand to the refinery, wait all day while they off loaded the stand and mounted the free turbine in the stand, reload it and us run it non-stop back to the east coast where it will quickly be repaired. That is where were are now. Once repaired it will be loaded and rushed back to the refinery and put back on-line.
Let me note that while we were enroute to pick this unit up, the other one began failing, so time is of the essence before this unit fails and they are left without the capability to produce their own power. It is this capability that enables the refineries to keep production cost down and these fuels more afforable to the consumer.
A forum member recently stated on another thread of mine that I always mention how special my freight is. Well maybe, maybe not. What I do is share stories about some of the freight I now haul that I think is special, unique, or at least interesting, and that others would enjoy reading about. Do I feel my freight is any more special than anyone elses? No. Do I believe others on this forum haul freight that is just as or more special, unique, or at least interesting as mine? Heck yea! I only wish more could/would share as we could see more of this unique world of expediting through each other's eyes!
How did an aviation freight hauler end up at a fuel refinery? Pratt & Wittney along with GE also build ground power units for refineries, municipal power plants, and power generation for large ships. All of which we haul along with their jet engines.
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