Portal Lathe Rigging QLD Australia.

Is there any traction here for completed jobs?.

I've been up in Central Queensland 5 weeks out of the past 6. Rockhampton, about 2,000 km's from home. Railway maintenance workshop that has been closed down. I'm representing the local agent for Hegenscheidt Train Wheel profiling machines. I've had to pull out two machine approx 57 tonne each

First machine was fairly straight forward. It was on flat and level ground. Second machine sat up on a concrete plinth about 600mm high. ( 2 foot). 7 x 10 metres area. At best a 3.5m radius before outriggers and stand off.

Just to complicate things, the highest access roller door was 3.8m. I could sneak in a 60t Tandano in there. Our weapon of choice for machine handling is what we call a Franna. He cant get close enough due to this monolith of concrete. Loads only 10.2 tonnes / 22,500 lbs

Aussie built Franna is the unit on the left.


6 wheel U.S J.D gator, just got in the way of what would have been a good picture.


Tandano was all tied up in the roof, even backed up into the concrete block for minimum swing radius, even with out extending the tele-boom, he was hooked up to the rafters. He was good for about 28 tonne over the lift. So we plucked the headstocks, boomed down, and out. And plucked the lift mid air, with a Franna from the next bay. Loaded it onto the truck, with out ever hitting the ground.





Regards. Phil

Were the machines being moved to another workshop or gotten rid of outright?

I like that Franna crane. That looks very handy.

Here in the US, we have Mobilift and Twinlift machines that are about the same idea. However, they don't have the all terrain tires that you have on the Franna. I believe capacities can go up to 110 tons

Mobilifts & Twinlifts

You don't see canes like that here in the USA, but they seem pretty commonplace overseas. I could see one coming in handy, they just seem a little to big physically to get into a lot of US plants.

m16ty said:

You don't see canes like that here in the USA, but they seem pretty commonplace overseas. I could see one coming in handy, they just seem a little to big physically to get into a lot of US plants.

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I'm surprised They haven't appeared in the U.S. Terex bought them out in 1999. I can get them into really tight places, the arse end turns 90 deg's. They are only truck width 8' 2". They loose all counter weight when they are twisted like that. Whilst they might be rated 25 tonne, I'd never book one for a load over 15 -16T I'm metric. For that they have to be straight on, and counter weighted up

The counter weight is really smart. Because the arse end is all ready built heavy with steel and the engine. They carry the counter weight on the front. It makes a good kangaroo bar. They all carry a spreader bar in front of that. That allows a tire weight to run around highways. They do 50 m.p.h Allisson automatics. Some how they have crawler gears once on site. I think its in the hubs,

The counter weight is a couple of tonnes. You luft the boom up to about 75 degrees, then run the running block down, pick it off the nose. Lay it down, in the car park / yard. Then do a 180 deg U turn and back over the counterweight. Two hydraulic cylinders drop down, then you hook it up, and lift and pin it to the existing counter weights on the arse end. The engineer in me, always thinks it a smart arrangement,

Regards Phil

they are called a "Bull Moose" picker in these parts.

number 2 said:

Were the machines being moved to another workshop or gotten rid of outright?

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Site I was on shut down for the first time in 147 years, today.

I only made it out by a day, I had to extract all the machinery, that this second party rail company bought, before they locked the gates,
If you know Rocky, it was the heritage QR site

I've moved them an hour south. Gladstone. They will become productive again March - April once they have done the foundations. They go 2 stories under ground for the swarf crusher and conveyors out. I've scheduled 5 weeks.

Regards Phil.

machtool said:

Site I was on shut down for the first time in 147 years, today.

I only made it out by a day, I had to extract all the machinery, that this second party rail company bought, before they locked the gates,
If you know Rocky, it was the heritage QR site

I've moved them an hour south. Gladstone. They will become productive again March - April once they have done the foundations. They go 2 stories under ground for the swarf crusher and conveyors out. I've scheduled 5 weeks.

Regards Phil.

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I had a job like that once. Every day something new was turned off. Got a big Hor bore out by the skin of my teeth just before the overhead cranes were being taken down. The bastards even turned off the water to the toilets !

This site had been there hundreds of years also. It was originated by a very famous Victorian engineer who's name escapes me. The site is a Tesco's now I think.

Edit - the company was Donkins in Chesterfield. Donkin was one of the unsung heroes of our Industrial Revolution.

Regards Tyrone.

ewlsey said:

I like that Franna crane. That looks very handy.

Here in the US, we have Mobilift and Twinlift machines that are about the same idea.

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I'm really familiar with Twin Lifts, mate of mine went to Chicago 2 dozen years ago, and bought a pair home.

I posted this picture here about 2012.



His baby brother,



Once it gets past 25T Franna's. They're like flies down here. Everyone's got one. 15- 16 tonne max's then out. You'd have to have something as dense as a rare earth magnet to be 25t, banging on the bumper bar, with the boom stuck up into the air.

Anything past that you would reach out to Steve Crain. Can I tell folk law here? The bloke with the best and biggest cranes is named Steven Crain. His passport say's that.

For the past few decades, once it got past Franna's @ 15T, You just had to ask for purple or red. 30T or 65T. They have there inbuilt spreader bar, if you want to rig off the boom end.

Those Twinlifts are sweet. Every thing is hydraulic and as slow as a wet week. Just the way I like it when I have customers dollars dangling on the hook.

Regards Phil.

Jeez Phil that looks like a tight job. I always love seeing how you rig the big boys toys. Regards Andre

Franna cranes were invented here.....by a crane repair crowd called Francis...........they took a long time to get any traction in the market here due to taxes........a tractor based crane (12ton BHB) was classed as agricultural equipt ,and no sales tax new.....savaing of about $25,000 in 1980........once the salestax concession was taken away,Franna cranes took off ,because the were a lot cheaper than heavy tractors............the other advantage was they had a road speed of near 60mph,against the tractors of 28mph......The Frannas went from 5 ton with a 4cyl Perk in 1980 to 12 ton with a 6 cyl and Allison trans by 1985......EDIT....its possible they will never appear in the US,because of the articulated hydraulic steering....it fais to a jack knife situation and the crane flips.........25 ton at 60mph is a serious crash.....or locks in the last steering position....again out of controll..............there have also been a number of crashes here caused by wheels contacting curbs and rails,which drags the steering into the wall,or over the bridge.