Bridges are there in order to make connections, to overcome rivers and gorges. But what is to be done if 100 tonnes has to be moved across a bridge that normally has to withstand only 12 t from 4-wheeled vehicles? Answer: one utilises a very long InterCombi combination and pushes the load from one side to the other.

The men are busy pulling and pushing and tightening bolts. The Kübler haulage company from Michelfeld, near Schwäbisch Hall in Germany, was awarded the contract to deliver a 60 t transformer for a sub-station in Ingelfingen. The difficulty with this project was the fact that a bridge which had to be negotiated only had a 12 t permissible weight allowance. Together with that of the transport vehicles, the total weight easily reached around 100 t. However, the heavy duty forwarding specialists from Kübler were able to find the right solution.

In the first phase, the transformer was taken to the bridge on 8 axle lines of a Scheuerle InterCombi. On the other side, an additional 24 InterCombi axle lines were waiting to play their part. Very slowly, the 24 axle lines were then moved back across the bridge to the loaded 8-axle vehicle. Thanks to the number of wheels available, the weight of the vehicle could be evenly distributed ensuring that an individual wheel load of 3.4 t could be realised. As it happened, this was just within the permissible limit for the thin concrete slab of the bridge. The combination was then coupled so that 12 axle lines respectively were positioned before and after the bridge. The axle lines positioned on the bridge itself were raised which meant that the complete weight of the transformer was distributed on the axle lines positioned in front of and after the bridge structure. This was made possible using vehicle technology developed by Scheuerle Fahrzeugfabrik GmbH from Pfedelbach. With a 36 t technical axle load, the modular InterCombi platform trailer has been designed for the safe transportation of large loads and provides sufficient reserves through the robust construction of the frame. Thanks to the hydraulic axle load distribution, the permissible floor loading limit can always be maintained.

“In effect, we have built a bridge across the bridge,” said Ken Roessler, Managing Director of Spedition Kübler. Slowly but surely, the transformer was then pulled to the other side by means of steel cables.

The transformator for Ingelfingen is driven up to the bridge on eight Scheuerle InterCombi axle lines.

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These 8 axle lines are then coupled to an additional 24 axle lines.

The 60 t transformer is pulled slowly to the other side. The small bridge can only accommodate a maximum load of 12 t.

Thanks to the hydraulic axle load distribution of the InterCombi platform trailer from Scheuerle, it was possible to create a “bridge across the bridge”.

Source: Cargo Equipment Experts, CEE