When most people picture a heavy-duty truck, they’re thinking about something that hauls construction materials or refrigerated freight down an interstate. The Nicolas Tractomas operated in an entirely different universe – one where the cargo might be a power plant transformer, the convoy stretches 125 meters long, and the total moving weight tops 700 metric tons. Built by Nicolas Industrie, a French engineering firm with roots going back to 1855, the Tractomas was a purpose-built ballast tractor designed for one specific job: moving loads that no conventional truck could legally or physically touch. The first-generation trucks used Willeme and Berliet cabs, Mercedes engines, and ZF gearboxes, with towing capacities around 200 tonnes. About 300 trucks built across 37 years, several Guinness records, and a starring role in some of the most demanding industrial logistics operations on earth.