Spectacular night work

Challenging night mission in Essen mastered without any problems

Good planning pays off: In November, we were once again able to prove that RIGA MAINZ is always looking for the slightly better solution: In Essen, we had to place a steel bridge weighing 418 tons and almost 50 meters long over a busy railway line. This had to be done in two night operations, each with a three-and-a-half hour time window.

The original plan was to use a shunting system, but since the bridge crosses the tracks at an angle, this would have been very difficult. Instead, an alternative concept was implemented with SPMTs and three cranes, which had been worked out under the direction of Uwe Langer: First, the construction was moved to the construction site on three SPMTs, until it reached about 15 metres above the railway line. Then, from the opposite side, the LR 1600/2 with derrick boom, ballast wagon and counterweights totalling 565 tonnes at an outreach of 42 m took over about 190 tonnes of the bridge weight. A SPMT module positioned obliquely at the other end of the bridge carried 230 tonnes. With this load distribution, it was possible to lift the bridge completely over the route and set it down on an interim storage facility at the end of the first stop.

Now the two mobile cranes LTM 1500-8.1 and the LTM 1450-8.1, the latest addition to the RIGA fleet, were put into service during the second closing break. Together with the crawler crane, they moved the bridge by the last six metres to its final position. With a gross weight of approx. 110 tons, the new crane had to deal with almost the same load case as its larger brother - but with a slightly lower outreach. Uwe Langer was very satisfied with the newcomer and certified that the crane with the longest jib in its class and outstanding load values is highly flexible in use.

Positioning of steel bridge > PLACE OF USE: Essen > EQUIPMENT: three SPMTs, LR 1600/2 with derrick boom, two LTM 1500-8.1, LTM 1450-8.1,
load carrying equipment: Ballast trucks and counterweights totaling 565 tons with an outreach of 42 m about 190 tons of bridge weight