Quad booster

There must have been very little news in Lancashire recently when there was extensive coverage on local radio and television of what was described as one of the heaviest loads on the UK’s roads.

Allelys’ MAN TGX V8 tractor and girder trailer passing through the town of Congleton with the first part of the quad booster

Warnings were issued by the media to avoid the area due to long traffic delays caused by the movement of these abnormal loads. Thanks to this message the crowds came out to see what all the fuss was about.

It was to move the first of two parts of a quadrature booster transformer to be moved through the town of Preston from the River Ribble up to the Penwortham electricity substation which was being given a major overhaul.

All the sightseers caused more traffic delays than if the move had not been mentioned at all. Its gross weight of 525 tonnes meant it took three years of planning to get a suitable route to move the quad booster.

The transformer was too heavy to take over two bridges en route. The only option was to take it by road to Ellesmere Port where the girder trailer and its load could be driven onto a barge owned by specialized transport contractor Wynns Limited.

It would then sail up the River Ribble where it would be unloaded on its southern bank, thereby avoiding the bridges that had been causing trouble.

Allelys moved the first part of the transformer out of the town of Stafford one Sunday in late February as this was the time of the so-called “super moon” when there were some very high tides up the Ribble.

Passing though the park with little room to spare above the top of the load

A large vessel had not sailed up the Ribble since the Manxman ferry left Preston in 1991. That all changed when MV River carrier came up the river carrying a transformer also bound for the Penwortham substation project.

The first part of the quad booster’s journey by road was carried out over two days with an overnight stop near Holmes Chapel along the way.

Once in Ellesmere Port the combination of a 500 kW MAN TGX V8 ballast tractor with Goldhofer girder trailer and its quad booster cargo could then be driven onto Wynns’ state of the art semi-submersible heavy transport barge, Terra Marique, before being towed around the coast by tugboat and finally up the river Ribble to the unloading point.

Worth a look
The arrival of Terra Marique in Preston on Friday’s high tide attracted lots of interest from local people. It caused delays on the nearby Penwortham bypass as motorists slowed down to have a look.

The two parts of the quad booster were heavier than the previously delivered transformer. They were too heavy to have crossed the old bridge over the River Ribble from the docks so the barge was forced to dock on a small concrete strip on the southern bank of the river to discharge its cargo to dry land.

In a park on the south bank the strip of concrete was used many years earlier to unload heavy components destined for the Penwortham substation when it was built.

Wynns’ barge Terra Marique being readied to unload

Conditions were favourable to unload the Terra Marique on the Saturday morning as you could not have asked for better weather for such a task. There was hardly any wind under the blue sky.

The Terra Marique can manoeuvre under its own power. The previous day it had been moored by the north bank for the night as the water is deeper on that side at low tide.

With a high tide on the way the barge was swung into position across the river with its stern up to the unloading point where it was moored by a team from Chris Miller transport, another old name in British heavy haulage.

Once the barge was anchored securely to three of Allelys’ ballast tractors the temporary bridge was erected from the barge so that the girder trailer could be reversed back onto dry land.

Over the course of the morning the deck containing the truck, its trailer and load had been raised slowly up from inside the hold to sit right at the top of the barge. This deck can be moved up or down to be able to accommodate different heights of docks.

DAF 8 x 4 from the Alleleys fleet towing the trailer and load off the barge

As “time and tide waits for no MAN” the ramp was quickly put in place and an Allelys Daf / Ginaf special heavy haulage tractor was reversed up the ramp and coupled up to the Goldhofer bogie at the rear of the combination.

Once this was done the Daf and MAN slowly reversed the trailer off the barge and onto the shore. When the combination was off the ramp it was a quick job to disassemble the loading ramp and reposition the Terra Marique back along the northern bank of the Ribble for the night.

Quite a crowd had gathered along the river bank to see the combination being unloaded from the barge. When the excitement had subsided for the day, the earlier crowds dispersed, leaving the combination to be moved down the tree lined park road to the main road in readiness for the final part of its journey to its new home at the substation.

The advance publicity for the move at 8 a.m. on the Sunday meant that the route to site was packed with spectators, despite the early start and the short distance to travel up the hill to the substation.

Allelys’ old Daf 95 ballast tractor leads the second part off the barge

Back on the road
Out of the park and onto the main road it was then a short drive before a bridge for the Penwortham bypass had to be negotiated on the wrong side of the road.

Just after moving under the bridge there was a set of railings to be negotiated by the bottom of the hill. At this point a third unit, a Daf ballast tractor, was attached to the front of the MAN with a wire rope.

With these obstacles now behind them and with the combined pulling power of three tractors, the quad booster set off on the short but steep road to the top of the hill, watched all the way by spectators lining the route.

Clear of the hill it was time to disconnect the extra tractor from the front and carry on along the road for a couple of miles before making a right turn towards the substation.

This turn was too tight for the combination so both tractors were disconnected from the trailer and turned around. They were then reconnected to the trailer and ready to make the last part of the trip down the narrow lane to the substation.

The load then disappeared down a very narrow lane to the substation followed by all the people who had accompanied it from its start point.With the first load in place it was time for the second part. As with the first load the second stage of the quad booster had good weather to travel in - a pleasant surprise for the time of year.

As it was the second time that the Allelys crew had unloaded the Terra Marique onto the southern bank of the River Ribble it all went smoothly.