Just sat in the office in Sketchley Meadows (Hinckley) and heard a whining artic roll past, thought at first there was something wrong with it. Then it went past again, same sound. No diesel engine sound, do they come in electric? Is this a prototype? Didn’t get a real look at it but didn’t seem out of the ordinary.
What do you think it’s range is, 10 miles? 
I knew that…
existed. but never heard of an artic tractor unit being electric.
We’ve got a few hybrid/electric rigids, not seen an electric unit though as yet!
I don’t think there’s any full electric artic LGV’s in active service,I simply don’t think they would be powerful enough. There’s plenty of hybrid busses and rigids which are all gutless (so ive heard), but an electric truck grossing at 44t? (for example) Nah, it would burn up all its charge within an hour!
Are you sure it wasn’t just the driver whining? 
TNT got a few like dar posted, I’m sure I saw a tractor unit in a website had like 8to ten battery’s for it can’t remember where it was now 
Hi
Saw this in Vancouver,may have to start it on coke to get it going ! 
Arla at Leeds have an electric tug, the driver seemed to love it
Distance will be a bigger issue than torque. Artics tend to go further from base
Warburtons at Enfield have a couple of electric vans but never heard of anything bigger being electric. I would have doubted if there’d be enough torque.
Taken from an article in March2013 Truck and Driver, a purely battery powered 44 tonner would need 52 tonnes of batteries.
Leyland have a full electric rigid.
Could possibly be a hybrid, running in electric mode. No production hybrid tractors in Europe yet that I know of, but they will come. the biggest production hybrid truck currently in the UK is the Fuso
truckingtopics.co.uk/potterhybrid.html
Heavier stuff?
truckingtopics.co.uk/industryzf1.html. Iveco has first shot with this transmission.
Other ideas are in development
truckingtopics.co.uk/iaahybridtrucks2.html
Saw a prototype Renault hybrid tractor unit using capacitors rather than batteries many (15?) years ago …that technology is now Volvo Group property.
Hybrids tend to use electric traction for pulling away, then the diesel engine chimes in. There are production full-size hybrid buses in daily use in the UK, so the technology is workable.
Or it could have been a very quiet diesel.
marlow:
Arla at Leeds have an electric tug, the driver seemed to love it
It was approval pending the new Hoddesdon depot, which will be all electric, but it’s gone from Leeds now.
One of the shunters I was talking to, said it can charge up on when on an hours break.
Ken.
Hybrid possibly, definitely wasn’t running on diesel when it went past, and, no, it wasn’t the driver whining 
Sidevalve:
Are you sure it wasn’t just the driver whining?
haha very good