General Transport moves GE’s largest motor

When it came to transporting the biggest electric motor ever built at a General Electric factory in Canada, the task fell to General Transport and BNSF Logistics Canada.

Switzerland-based General and BNSFL worked together to move the GE motor from Peterborough, Ontario, to the Port of Oshawa, in the same province. Extended road permit applications up to six months were needed, as were bridge surveys and special traffic management plans where overhead power lines had to be lifted. Lengthy permits were issued because the cargo was classified as a Super Load, the company said.

In Oshawa the motor was loaded onto heavy lift vessel M/V HR Constellation which then sailed to Point Comfort, Texas. From there delivery was made to the refinery.

The motor’s stator weighed 108 tons and measured 8.06 x 4.64 x 5.82 metres while the rotor weighed 130.68 tons and was 10.21 x 4.43 x 4.45 m. For protection both pieces were packed in wooden crates.