HEAVYTORQUE TALKS TO ERIC CROSBY, HEAVY LIFT PROJECTS DIRECTOR AT COLLETT & SONS, WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED WITH SPECIALIST TRANSPORT FOR 37 YEARS.
So far as he is concerned, while shifting two huge steam boilers from Immingham in Lincolnshire to Snodland in Kent – a distance of over 322km (200 miles) – poses the odd challenge or two, it’s not exactly complicated when compared with some of the other movements the company has had to deal with. As heavy lift projects director at Collett & Sons, and being with the company for 15 years, Eric Crosby has been involved with transporting some of the biggest and heaviest items that have ever travelled by road in the UK.
Not that those boilers are shrimps. Shifted by Collett over a weekend in early August of this year, they are each 15m long, 4.7m wide and 4.35m high, and weigh 85 tonnes apiece. “They were to be delivered to a new power plant being constructed at an existing paper mill’” says Crosby. “It was a repeat of a project we did three years ago for the same client to a site in Selby, North Yorkshire, close to the Collett Heavy Lift terminal in Goole”
THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT REASONS WHY PEOPLE GET INTO MODEL MAKING OR COLLECTING. RETIRED CRANE OPERATOR MARK BARTRIM HAS MORE REASON THAN MOST TO BE GLAD HE TOOK IT UP, AS HEAVYTORQUE FOUND OUT WHEN SHE SPOKE TO THE QUEENSLANDER ABOUT HIS LIFE AND EXTENSIVE MODEL COLLECTION.
What is your background in the heavy lifting/heavy haulage industry?
“I’m 62 and retired now, but I worked in the crane industry for 40 years rigging and driving – we call it driving here in Australia, you would probably say ‘operating’.” expalins Mark Bartrim, “It started when I was labouring on a [construction] job; there were a couple of cranes on site and they asked me to give them a hand. After that, I did all my tickets and took it from there.”
“I spent 10 years working on tower cranes on high-rise during the 70s – mainly in Brisbane. There was always construction going on there. Back in those days it was how you gauged the economy – by the number of tower cranes. I moved to Mackay in 1988 to chase mining construction work.
Issue Twelve: with 140 pages of first-class journalism and photography, what more can you wish for? HeavyTorque, Britain’s best loved specialist transport title! Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or individual copy.
BOLTON-BASED HEAVY PLANT AND EQUIPMENT DEALER GHM GROUP HAS TRACKED DOWN ONE OF THE MOST TRAVELLED HEAVY-DUTY TRACTORS IN THE WORLD AND IS PLANNING A GROUND-UP REBUILD AND RESTORATION. HEAVYTORQUE REPORTS.
The naming of heavy haulage tractors is part of a long tradition that no doubt started when horses were used for virtually all transport tasks, giving your charge a human name gave the horse an identity and strengthened the bond between man and beast. Taking good care of your horse was the mark of a conscientious worker, giving it an individual name made it personal and both worked as a team.
This trend continued with traction engines, when they took over from horses as the principle means of moving heavy loads by road, virtually every steam engine was given a name that it invariably retained for all of its working life and into retirement if possible. As the internal combustion engine was introduced, more powerful vehicles replaced the lumbering steam engines and allowed heavy hauliers to cover the ground more quickly and venture further afield. Some operators continued to give heavy tractors names, but it was less common than in previous times.
FORTY-THREE YEARS AGO BENGT-OLOF HAMMAR DESIGNED A SIDELOADER FOR PUTTING CONTAINERS ONTO TRUCKS. NOW THE PRODUCTS BUILT BY HAMMAR MASKIN AB ARE USED AROUND THE WORLD AS MORE TRANSPORT COMPANIES REALISE THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF USING TWO VEHICLE-MOUNTED CRANES TO LIFT AND MOVE STATIC ISO CONTAINERS. HEAVYTORQUE REPORTS.
In 1968 the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) issued its recommendation for the terminology, dimensions and ratings of a shipping container ending 20 years of different shapes and sizes, incompatibility and confusion. This allowed transport – whether it was by sea or land – to work with one recognised uniform product. It also meant that ancillary equipment could be properly developed and sold into global markets. Wherever there is a container there is usually a requirement to move it. Just six years later Bengt-Olof Hammar designed his first sideloader, the SL30S model. While studying at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg he completed a dissertation about ‘sidelifters’. So convinced by the concept he borrowed some money, designed a prototype, and packed his Volkswagen Beetle with photos and documents and travelled across Sweden to try and sell his product.
Issue Twelve: with 140 pages of first-class journalism and photography, what more can you wish for? HeavyTorque, Britain’s best loved specialist transport title! Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or individual copy.
MAN HAS HAD A STRONG PRESENCE IN THE WORLDWIDE HEAVY HAULAGE AND SPECIALIST APPLICATION SECTORS FOR MANY YEARS, AND WHILE MANY UK OPERATORS WILL BE AWARE OF ITS HEAVY HAULAGE PRODUCTS AND OPERATE MAN TRUCKS, THE SHEER BREADTH AND COMPLEXITY OF ITS PRODUCT RANGE MIGHT WELL SURPRISE MANY PEOPLE. HEAVYTORQUE REPORTS.
While most manufacturers offer a wide range of vehicle layouts and specifications to meet numerous applications, allowing operators to tailor the vehicle to meet their exact requirements, MAN probably takes things a little further than many of its competitors. As far as the heavy haulier is concerned, MAN offers a wide range of three- and four-axle factory built chassis that can be specified to meet most applications. In addition, it offers a comprehensive range of rigid and tractor variants for specialist operations, with particular emphasis on conventional all-wheel-drive and hydraulically operated front axle traction assist systems. If a customer is looking for a chassis for a truly specialist role, it offers bespoke designs that are purpose-built for almost any application via the manufacturer’s working partnership with conversions specialists such as German-based Toni Maurer.
IN ADDITION TO TRANSPORTING ITS OWN FLEET OF PLANT, EARTHMOVING AND QUARRY EQUIPMENT, NAIRN-BASED GF JOB LTD PROVIDES A HEAVY HAULAGE SERVICE ACROSS THE HIGHLANDS, ISLANDS AND MAINLAND BRITAIN. HEAVYTORQUE VISITS THE COMPANY, WHICH REACHES THE PARTS OF SCOTLAND FEW OTHERS CAN REACH.
The complexities and intricacies of UK heavy haulage are ratcheted up a few clicks when operating in the northern half of Scotland. Narrow roads, challenging topography and frequent spells of extreme winter weather, are all part of a day’s work for GF Job Ltd. Founded in 1990 as a civil engineering business by Canadian Gerry Job, the firm’s core activity is now complemented by quarry works, contract crushing, earthworks, plant hire and landscaping. The manned excavator fleet ranges in capacity from three to 50 tonnes with both tracked and wheeled versions used. These are accompanied by high output bulldozers and wheeled loading shovels for earthworks, to operate alongside the firm’s dump trucks. Other more recent developments have seen an expertise established in demolition operations, contaminated land remediation, waste management and recycling.
Issue Twelve: with 140 pages of first-class journalism and photography, what more can you wish for? HeavyTorque, Britain’s best loved specialist transport title! Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or individual copy.
ALLY MACPHERSON SERVICES, MULTI-AWARD WINNER AT THIS YEAR’S HEAVIES, PROVIDES SPECIALIST SUPPORT FACILITIES TO THE HEAVY HAULAGE AND LIFTING INDUSTRIES. HEAVYTORQUE GETS THE INSIDE VIEW ON THE GROWING DEMAND FOR BACKROOM EXPERTISE.
Every successful abnormal load movement is a triumph of teamwork that requires coordination, patience and expert knowledge. And, while the spotlight usually shines on the driver and the fantastic vehicles they operate, no move could be done without someone in the background making sure all the right permits and orders are in place, that every interested third party is happy with the arrangements, the route has been analysed and optimised, and experienced escorts are on hand to make sure the load can navigate that route safely.
It is no coincidence, then, that the winner of the Team of the Year award at this year’s Heavies was a triumvirate of companies that included Ally Macpherson Services (AMS), a firm that specialises in managing and coordinating all aspects of abnormal load projects, and the company that also picked up the award for Pilot/Escort of the Year. The Team award recognised all the parties involved in a complex move – in this case taking concrete beams from Ireland to the M8/M74 in Glasgow – while AMS won the Pilot/Escort of the Year award in recognition of its commitment to raising industry standards.
IN CONVERSATION WITH HEAVYTORQUE, SUNTER BROTHERS DRIVER PETER CLARK, REMINISCES ON HIS EXPERIENCES AND THE CHANGES HE WITNESSED IN 31 YEARS AT THE SHARP END OF HEAVY OPERATIONS
A couple of months ago, on the August bank holiday weekend, a small group of people gathered for a few drinks, something to eat and good conversation at the Golden Lion hotel in the Yorkshire town of Northallerton. And, while that conversation will no doubt have covered traditional subject areas like grandchildren, holidays and local politics, this particular group were also swapping reminiscences of the heavy haulage industry.
For Almost 50 years, Northallerton was home to Sunter Brothers, a key name in the history of UK heavy haulage. And the bank holiday get-together at the Golden Lion was the annual reunion of former company employees. In the early days, there used to be 30 or 40 people at the reunion; now there are just 10 or 12, prompting former driver Peter Clark to quip that they have a bet as to who will be “the last man standing”.
Issue Twelve: with 140 pages of first-class journalism and photography, what more can you wish for? HeavyTorque, Britain’s best loved specialist transport title! Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or individual copy.