Versatility

The MEGALIFT team had to stretch its versatility to the limit with a problem facing Tolent Construction during a refurbishment of the Transport Museum at Covent Garden.

The major project called for the construction of several shops within the museum. Sited on top of the new shops were to be several Steam & Electric Engines, Carriages and Rolling stock from different periods down through the ages.

The project presented several challenges to the team; the tight confines of the building presented access problems, the total weight of the engines and rolling stock needed was in excess of 250t, and the cellars located underneath the building presented problems with weight distribution.

Using the considerable combined versatility and experience of the MEGALIFT team, they first designed 3 large frames The first, main frame would function as the shop roof. A second frame was introduced to support the MEGALIFT cylinders during lifting, with a third attached to the main frame, to form the lifting frame for the MEGALIFT cylinders.

Once the steelwork had been completed all the rolling stock was pulled in, positioned, and secured on the main frame. Then the MEGALIFT system was brought in to play, lifting the complete steelwork frame and rolling stock to a height of 4.5 metres. This was then held in position until all the support steelwork could be constructed underneath. With this particular contract twelve cylinders were used in conjunction with each other. It is believed that this was the first time in the world that so many units had been used at once.

In rising to the challenge they faced, the MEGALIFT team called upon the flexibility and versatility of the MEGALIFT system that enables an almost infinite range of configurations to be used to solve even the most unusual heavy lifting problem.