Prime mover back in limelight after brakes put on potential

Red tape restricted the Rhodes Ridley from ever reaching its trucking potential but one man is working to ensure the prime mover is not forgotten.

The mammoth truck was the brainchild of DFD Rhodes’ Don Rhodes and workshop manager Harold Ridley, commissioned in 1958 with intentions to haul ore from the Woodie Woodie manganese mine in the Pilbara.

Weighing 21.5 tonnes and powered by dual General Grant tank engines, the eye-catching road beast boasted an unrivalled 170 tonnes in carrying capacity.

However, changes in road regulations during the construction stage ensured what was then the largest truck in the southern hemisphere never completed a haulage journey.

Instead, the Rhodes Ridley’s working life was confined to Woodie Woodie, 400km south-east of Port Hedland, where it sat static and only served as a base for the mine’s genset.

In 1972, Woodie Woodie was mothballed and the mighty prime mover was left to rust at the mine.

Desperate not to let a piece of WA history be forgotten, Terry Joyce and Bob Devlin retrieved the truck in 1989, two years after Mr Rhodes died, in a bid to pay homage to the late mining identity.

“We wanted to restore it to its original might as a tribute to Don and a tribute to Harold Ridley,” Mr Joyce said.

“After she was retrieved she sat in Port Hedland for about 10 years before she was released back to DFD Rhodes where she was then restored to her former glory.

“She is a very popular and much-loved truck.”

Primarily constructed with military components, the Rhodes Ridley was built in Welshpool from designs Mr Ridley sketched on Masonite sheets.

Mr Joyce, of Boyup Brook, wrote the Let’s Build Our Own book, published by DFD Rhodes, detailing the Rhodes Ridley’s history and exhibits the prime mover at shows across WA.

Last week, the Rhodes Ridley left its South West storage space and travelled to the Dowerin GWN7 Machinery Field Days where it was a popular attraction among punters.

Mr Joyce said he was glad the truck was no longer left to waste in the Pilbara and its story was being told.

“She left Perth on October 30, 1958, to go to the Pilbara,” he said.

“Sixty years later, she is the only one in the world.

“She is utterly unique, an absolute one of a kind.”