Heavy haulage specialist Collett’s latest project involved transporting a 172-tonne super grid transformer to the National Grid’s Feckenham substation.
Relying on the latest addition to the fleet, the Collett team mobilised its new 250-tonne capacity Goldhofer girder bridge to facilitate the movement of the transformer over a weekend to its location 118 miles away in Redditch.
The modular trailer arrived as two separate 10-axle combinations, which enabled the girder bridge to be built around the transformer to form a 20-axle loaded configuration.
The convoy then travelled in a push/pull formation, with one 8x4 tractor unit pulling the combination and one unit pushing, with police escorts in Bedfordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
Once on site at Feckenham, Collet’s hydraulically raised the side beams of the girder bridge, lifting the transformer and then placed timber supports into position.
The girder bridge was then lowered, resting the transformer on the timbers and allowing for the modular trailer to be split and disassembled from the payload.
