Oooops

[leeco]

http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update/2013-02-01/picture-crane-falls-into-canal/

 

Sorry if already done.

[Skye]

OMG hope the driver was ok

[leeco]

OMG hope the driver was ok

 

The driver got out and is fine so the news said. I hope it dosn't delay the stoppages near there as I have run out of water.

[leeco]

The driver got out and is fine so the news said. I hope it dosn't delay the stoppages near there as I have run out of water.

 

http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update/2013-02-01/video-crane-collapses-into-canal/

[billh]

http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update/2013-02-01/picture-crane-falls-into-canal/

 

Sorry if already done.

Driving a very heavy vehicle along the 18th century towpath to work on a lock? Presumably with the full approval of CRT engineers?

Marvellous.

Your canal is safe in their hands.......

[magpie patrick]

Local paper with report

 

More detail, driver must have had a scare!

[Darren72]

We see quiet a few cranes on LL, but thats the biggest one weve seen! RCR got their hands full!

 

 

Ive got a magnet they can borrow to pull it out

 

 

 

 

[Allan(nb Albert)]

I am rather reminded of that incident years ago when two contractors lives were lost due to a bank collapse incident involving a tractor.

[churchward]

I suppose they thought they knew what they were doing but that seems an awfully heavy looking vehicle to be scooting along a towpath! Good job there were no casualties.

[Mike Tee]

Good job nobody was moored there.

[Allan(nb Albert)]

I suppose they thought they knew what they were doing but that seems an awfully heavy looking vehicle to be scooting along a towpath! Good job there were no casualties.

 

The report says 'The crane is designed to lift 90 tonnes, although it weighs around 64 tonnes'.

[churchward]

The report says 'The crane is designed to lift 90 tonnes, although it weighs around 64 tonnes'.

That's handy it can lift itself out then!

[steven wilkinson]

like one of those self-righting mechanisms used on the good robots in Robot Wars!

[leeco]

That's handy it can lift itself out then!

 

[Pembroke]

That's a nightmare

Can't think of any easy way to get that out

[billh]

An even bigger crane will be brought in ( at great expense) to lift it out, more destruction of the bank and surrounds. Depending on access, it might need a 500tonner to get the required reach and lifting capacity.

Of course, in the olden days there was a crane boat in the area (was it "Ribble"?) to lift lock gates and stuff but it was sold off to save money or because it was safer not to have it- put the responsibility onto contractors then get charged a fortune for a safe method of working like here,today.

[leeco]

That's a nightmare

Can't think of any easy way to get that out

 

I was thinking the same. Maybe drain the canal around it and dismantle it?

[John Holden]

That's a nightmare

Can't think of any easy way to get that out

 

I reckon the biggest problem will be slinging it.

Possibly roll it out rather than lift it out and winch it back to secure land.

However they do it I would love to see a vid of the operation, or even a few photos.

[Skye]

An even bigger crane will be brought in ( at great expense) to lift it out, more destruction of the bank and surrounds. Depending on access, it might need a 500tonner to get the required reach and lifting capacity.

Of course, in the olden days there was a crane boat in the area (was it "Ribble"?) to lift lock gates and stuff but it was sold off to save money or because it was safer not to have it- put the responsibility onto contractors then get charged a fortune for a safe method of working like here,today.

I know we have some big locks on the LL but I'd like to see the boat crane thats going to lift that bugger

[Pembroke]

Having thought about it for 20 minutes I think the main thing is access

If they can get suitable access then they should be able to build a suitable hard standing etc away from the canal

I think perhaps the first thing they might do is to stabilise the crane in its current position and reduce the water level in that area.

As the crane weighs 64 tonnes then it will be buried in the clay so I would think they may have to sling it to take the weight and then dig it out or inject the ground with air as suction will hold it in place.

A few trees will need to be chopped down - but that's the least of there problems

They will need a pretty chunky crane - this will depend mainly on the reach but it will almost certainly be 500tonne upwards

It will certainly be one to keep an eye on!!!

[Skye]

I think they are going to pump the contents of our threads from this site under the vehicle and it will float back to the bank

[billh]

I know we have some big locks on the LL but I'd like to see the boat crane thats going to lift that bugger

Very funny,

I meant that the crane boat should have been kept to lift lock gates etc as used to happen , then there would have been no need to have all this heavy gear running about on a 200year old towpath.

If they'd thought about it , a small crawler crane such as as 22RB would lift lock gates and with its tracks spreading the load would not have collapsed the bank. Tell me whose going to pick up the bill for the damaged bank? I don't think CRT carry insurance for this sort of thing. Hopefully the crane owner's are covered for loss of the machine. Very lucky no one was killed.

[Skye]

Very funny,

I meant that the crane boat should have been kept to lift lock gates etc as used to happen , then there would have been no need to have all this heavy gear running about on a 200year old towpath.

If they'd thought about it , a small crawler crane such as as 22RB would lift lock gates and with its tracks spreading the load would not have collapsed the bank. Tell me whose going to pick up the bill for the damaged bank? I don't think CRT carry insurance for this sort of thing. Hopefully the crane owner's are covered for loss of the machine. Very lucky no one was killed.

Sorry bill I was being a little flippant, your are right, perhaps the CRT need to look back at old solutions to existing problems. I'm sure our ancestors suffered the same problems we do, and I don't remember reading any historical events of a crane laying prostrate in the cut.

David

[Allan(nb Albert)]

History repeats itself -

 

Company fined over tractor deaths

 

Thankfully, nobody was killed this time.

[David Schweizer]

It all goes to demonstrate the error of relying upon modern technology, where there is already a time honoured manual method available. When I first started on the canals they used double A frames comprising of four stout poles (something like telegraph poles), stradled over the lock and a good old block and tackle to raise the gate.

 

I actually watched them removing and replacing the gates on Uxbridge lock using this method, admittedly it took about six men to do the manouvering, and I seem to recall a portable engine being involved, but there are usually even more operatives around these days when lifting gates, so manpower costs would not be a issue.

 

When the operation was finished the A frames were dismantled loaded onto a boat and taken away. I am even fairly certain that Alan Fincher's Sickle was involved in the gate replacement operation that I observed, there was certainly a BW tug around at the time, but unfortunately no one took any photos!