The tunnelling machine was being
used to construct a 760M underground sewage tunnel in South Devon.
The sewage tunnel however was in a coastal bay inaccessible by road,
therefore to move the machine involved the use of a barge. The Megalift
system was first delivered via a barge and erected in the coastal
bay.
The operation began once the first section of the tunnelling machine
pushed through the cliff face. The short length of me receiving
pit dug in the beach meant that the 30f tunnelling machine had to
be split in two. Lifting lugs from the Megalift were attached to
the top of the machine and hoists connected. Hoisting the front
pair of rams of the Megalift broke the seal between the two sections
of the tunnelling machine, and the separated front section was manoeuvred
into the lifting position.
Having fully lifted the front section of the tunnelling machine,
the whole Megalift system was tracked along its own rails. It was
then able to lower the first part of its load onto machinery skates.
The skates were sitting on their own steel track, and with the use
of Tirfors the tunnelling machine was pulled directly onto the barge.
Working against the clock to beat the retreating tide, the operation
was repeated with the second tunnelling section, and the job was
completed ahead of time.
Megalift Manager, Bob Hamilton commented "Megalift helped where
cranes couldn't. It demonstrated its advantage of being both powerful,
yet portable. This job also showed the benefit of dealing with LGH,
the experts in the Lift Gear market. We combined Megalift with other
equipment from our NIM Hire operation, plus years of experience
and expertise, to provide a safe and effective solution to our customer
complex problem."

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