Western Star and Cummins ISXe5 the perfect combination for Morcombes Transport

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Truck World Australia / November 6, 2014

The history of the Morcombe’s Farming and Transport enterprises dates back to early this century when Arthur Morcombe started the farm as a First World War settler. The transport division of the business was born soon after, initially responsible for delivering supplies to build some of the very first roads in the district which then lead onto carting produce and livestock thereafter.

The original farm, located just outside Ballarat at Burrumbeet, remains to this day and has steadily expanded to become a mixed farm that includes merino sheep and Hereford cattle as well as crops such as wheat, barley and canola.

Today the farm and transport divisions operate as separate businesses owned and operated by family members. Morcombe’s Transport, which Mark and cousin Stephen look after, is mainly involved in livestock transport covering a wide area that can include both short local trips to sale yards through to long haul interstate trips to places such as Dubbo NSW to collect livestock.

“One of the key things I was looking at in a new truck was a spacious sleeper cab. Being a driver myself, I know how important it is to be able to stand up and walk around in the cab after a long drive. Also to have plenty of storage space and room for all your personal possessions and things like a fridge. Western Star’s roomy 54 inch ‘stratosphere’ cab satisfied all those requirements,” Mark said.

The other criteria that Mark had was for an engine with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology and that’s where Cummins latest engine, the ISXe5, fitted the bill perfectly.

The SCR exhaust after treatment on the ISXe5 is a fully integrated system developed by Cummins Emissions Solutions (CES), dosing urea into the exhaust stream to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions.

The ISXe5 has the same base engine design as the current Cummins EGR engines but incorporates a new common rail fuel system, a wastegate turbocharger and a single overhead camshaft.

The Cummins XPI* (extra-high pressure injection) common rail fuel system provides very precise injection and combustion control. It operates independently of engine speed and provides injection pressures greater than 30,000 psi.

“I’ve always been a fan of Cummins engines and so the new 15 litre ISXe5 engine was the obvious choice,” Mark went on to say.

After driving the Western Star for a few months Mark reports that he’s very happy with it. “I’m really pleased with it. The performance and fuel economy are both excellent. It drives really well on the road and despite its sizeable length, I find the maneuverability very good too,” Mark added.

Mark dealt with James Leo at Westar Truck Centre and in his own words the purchase experience went 'nice and smoothly' with Mark returning to Westar for the first oil services.

“Given the truck is away for long periods of time I had an auto greaser fitted which provides me with added peace of mind between services," said Mark.

With three young sons, Mark has high hopes that both Morcombe’s Farm and Morcombe’s Transport will be around long into this century.

Western Star 4900FXT - Specification Sheet

* Cummins-Scania XPI Manufacturing LLP is a 50/50 joint venture that designs, develops and manufactures next generation fuel systems. Locations include Columbus, Indiana, Sodertalje, Sweden and Juarez, Mexico.

Cummins and Scania first began to jointly develop high pressure fuel injection systems in 1992. The two companies went on to form the Cummins-Scania High Pressure Injection LLC joint venture in 1999 for the production of HPI (high pressure injection) systems.

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