December 8 - On its very first operational commitment, the Liebherr-LR 1600/2 crawler crane operated by Breuer & Wasel undertook a remarkable lift of a railway bridge weighing 454 tonnes into its future location.
At Hürth-Fischenich, near Cologne, Germany, two railway lines cross one another and a bridge carrying one of these lines needed to be replaced, which involved lifting it out in several segments.
The Liebherr LR 1600/2 crawler crane (pictured below) was equipped with a main boom 42 m long, as well as a derrick boom. The superstructure was provided with 150 tonnes of ballast, the central ballast weighing 65 tonnes and the derrick ballast 320 tonnes.
This crane configuration was necessary because, at 454 tonnes, the new bridge was not only extremely heavy but also measured 46 m in length.
It was placed initially on the pre-assembly area, raised, and then slewed through 180 degrees.
The Liebherr heavy lift crane, with a total load of 475 tonnes, then travelled 20 m towards the final location. Once there the bridge was lifted into its final position, in accordance with the planned schedule, reaching 17 m onto the bridge abutments.
The new LR 1600/2 is an impressive supplement to Breuer & Wasel's existing fleet of five Liebherr crawler cranes, which already includes a Liebherr LR 1600/2. As well as this, 80 percent of the company's crane fleet of 115 mobile cranes also originates from Liebherr. In addition, Breuer & Wasel operates 340 Liebherr tower cranes.
With a workforce of some 300 people, the company is already in the second generation of family ownership, operating across the whole of Europe in the sector of crane hire and heavy load logistics.
