Skinnard Lane - Plymouth
Specialist Plant & Lifting on a Rail Bridge
A recent trip to Plymouth with our spider crane, proved a different job from our usual assignments. Usually asked to provide water access with safety cover, this job was to assist with transporting materials through a difficult access.
Working with Four Tees Engineers Ltd, the task was to replace structural steel beams in a rail bridge on the Great Western Railway, a busy train line serving the south west of England. This meant the work had to take place over four nightshifts whilst the workforce had possession of the track.
The main part of the job was to transport two 8.6-metre-long beams, each weighing 780 kgs, from the delivery lorry on the road, along a narrow lane approximately 200 metres with nearby trees and limited rigging space, and then through a scaffold tunnel under the bridge. The beams then had to be lifted on to the bridge to be installed and an old beam removed.
To further complicate the job this all had to be carried out in sequence with one beam being installed before the old beam could be removed.
Our Jekko SPX 532 spider crane along with our two electric powered Hoeflon tracked carriers proved to be the perfect machines for the job. Unloading the steel beams on to the tracked carriers and using steering dollies on one end the beams were easily manoeuvred along the way to the bridge. With a maximum lifting capacity of 3.2 tonnes this was no problem for the Jekko spider crane, which once the lift was completed, could then track through to complete the job at the other end. Our tracked carriers have a carry capacity of 1.2 tonnes so again the job was well within their capability and being only 800 mm wide there was plenty of room for them to manoeuvre.
We also assisted transporting other tools and equipment up to the work platform scaffold saving on manual handling and associated risks.
Working at night proved no problem as we used two of our LED lighting towers to safely illuminate the site.
For all specialist access plant and machinery needs, contact Rebel Marine for a solution.
