Timing is critical for rail construction projects to avoid unscheduled disruption to train and passenger services. However, the best project planning can be undermined by adverse weather conditions. High winds, greater than 12 mph, may prevent bridge deck lifting using a crane, leading to project delays. A better bridge deck lifting alternative is Enerpac’s hydraulic gantry lifting system, as leading heavy lift company, Osprey Heavy Lift Ltd, has shown.

Osprey Heavy Lift Ltd has used an Enerpac SBL900 gantry to prepare a replacement bridge section on the Chester line. “The Enerpac gantry was the ideal lifting system for this bridge deck replacement project. Working at ground level and the ease of lifting the deck onto a SPMT made for a smooth installation of the new bridge desk,” said Nigel Fletcher, managing director, Osprey Heavy Lift Ltd.

An Enerpac hydraulic gantry comprises of 4 or more telescopic legs and an overhead beam or girder, allowing vertical lifting of heavy loads. If movement of the load is required the complete gantry system and load can be traversed along a track. Hydraulic gantries are a cost-effective solution for many lifting and rigging applications. Enerpac provides two types of hydraulic gantry systems for rail construction: Super Lift (SL) series: for lifts up to 400 metric tonnes (mT), and Super Boom Lift (SBL) series up to 1100 mT.

High performance gantries
Enerpac hydraulic gantries feature: self-contained hydraulics and electrics, self-propelled wheels or tank rollers, mechanical locking permitting load holding for extended periods of time and Intellilift wireless control system. Intellilift provides the operator with information about the stroke, lift and load per unit and automatically corrects any unsynchronised motion of the individual units, as well as unobstructed views of the load for a safer lift.

Moreover, the gantry lift is less affected by wind speeds than using cranes, allowing the gantry to be used at up to four times the wind speed permissible with a crane. A gantry can be used in areas where crane access is impractical, and it allows a continuous lift onto SPMT’s that is more efficient and safer than traditional jack and pack used on smaller bridge decks.

Low risk deployment
An Enerpac hydraulic gantry is cost effective to mobilise. The gantry’s telescopic leg can be folded down for ease of transportation, either on a flatbed trailer or in a container. Once on site, the gantry allows the new deck to be completely constructed on site at ground level, avoiding the need for working at height requirements.

For more information on Enerpac, visit www.enerpac.com.

For more information on Osprey Heavy Lift Ltd, visit www.ospreyltd.com.