Earlier this year, Collett & Sons transported a 170-tonne super-grid transformer from Ellesmere Port to the Cellarhead substation in Stoke-on-Trent, UK.
Loaded on to Collett’s 550-tonne capacity Scheuerle girder bridge, and accompanied by two heavy tractor units in a push/pull formation, the 69.6 m-long combination travelled 67 miles (107.8 km) over two days.
Upon arrival at the National Grid substation, the transformer, still loaded on the girder bridge, was positioned on the skid way. The beams of the girder bridge were subsequently disconnected and the convoy was fitted with support wheels. This allowed the front and rear bogies of the girder bridge to be autonomously driven clear of the transformer.
The Collett team then began the hydraulic jacking and skidding of the transformer across the 23 m track to its resting plinth.
