Tag Archives: crane

Assembling Roof Beams with Cranes

A hangar has been under construction at Paine Field for a while and, while so much time has been taken up by the preparation of the groundwork, I happened to be there when they were assembling the frame of the hangar.  The long span that the finished structure will have is built up of two pieces with the side beams and the roof beams for one side being assembled on the ground and then two cranes being called in to lift both halves up simultaneously so that they can be bolted in the center to provide the rigidity needed.

Seeing the cranes holding these large frames in place and the crews using scissor lifts to get up to put the connections in place was quite neat.  Once the frames are in place, the process of cladding the building can take place in slower time.  Those cranes will have been expensive to rent so getting that heavy lifting done as fast as possible will have been the goal.

Container Crane in the Mist

As I was looking out over the water from Fort Casey, there was a lot of haze which was obscuring some of the more distant sights.  Through this, I could just make out a container crane.  I couldn’t see lots of them so I wasn’t sure it was a major port.  Instead, it seemed like it was a lone crane.  I’m not sure what it could be but I liked the slightly mysterious nature of it.

Looking Down On Construction

I got to climb a tower crane recently.  This is something I had never done before and, since it provides a good view of a site and it was a new experience, I was keen to go.  I had one of my bigger cameras with me but I didn’t have a strap for it.  This proved to be a poor choice.  Climbing the ladders to get up the tower is not particularly hard but trying to do so while keeping hold of the hand strap of one camera was possible but very slow.

I quickly decided to leave the camera on one of the stage levels and get it on the way back down.  It wasn’t like anyone was going to be passing by.  I still had my phone in my pocket so that would have to do.  I got up to the level just below the cab.  Stopping at a few levels on the way up game me some different views of the construction site.  An elevated position is so appealing to me.  It gives perspective that most people never get to see.

Climbing back down again was a little less easy.  There is something about climbing up something which seems more natural than climbing down.  However, I was soon reunited with my camera and then finished the last couple of levels.  I will take good note of the advice about not bruising your knees as the ladder angle changes.  I might have bashed them once or twice.  Also, next time I shall make sure to have a strap to allow me to carry the better cameras with me!

Crane is Larger Than It Looks

There are a number of cranes that operate around the dam structure at Grand Coulee.  With the scale of the dam being so large, it is hard to appreciate how big these cranes are.  However, the road crosses the edge of the dam at the top and you go across rails in the road surface along which the cranes can traverse.  This gives you some idea of just how large it really is.  It would have been good to see one in action to give some idea of what it was lifting but that was not to be.  Below is a wider view of the dam so you can see how small the crane looks in the grand scheme of things – disguising its true size.

Building a Tower Crane

Tower cranes are ubiquitous in big cities.  The only way to construct tall buildings, there are the sign of a prosperous city when there are lots of them.  They can be a nuisance when you are taking photos of a skyline of course since they interrupt the flow of a cityscape.  You seen them all the time but you don’t often get to see how one is assembled.  When we were watching the tower construction across from our building in Chicago, we got to see the cranes being put together.

The first thing that is needed is a big crane!  Got to have a crane to make a crane!  The base was put in place and then the cab was lifted into place.  From this, the elements of both booms were lifted and attached.  Then the counterbalance weights could be added along with the machinery to do the lifting work.  It was fun to watch it all go together and to see the guys walking around on the structure once it was in place including all of the bracing elements.  Once the crane is complete, there is a sleeve section that allows the inner section to be slide up and a new section to be inserted.

Two cranes were built for this project.  They were both within the footprint of the building so it grew around them and they grew above it.  There was never terribly much of the crane exposed above the building so it was well supported.  One of the crane operators on this project used to take his camera up.  He had a great selection of images from up there with all sorts of things going on a round him and some incredibly variable weather.  I will have to see whether those images are still available online.

Building a Big Box

I have stayed in the same hotel in Addison TX a couple of times recently for work trips.  The view from my window has been of a building site that has been progressively developing on each visit.  On one morning, I was just getting ready to check out when I could see the crew getting ready to lift a concrete panel into place.  The crane they were using was a substantial beast.  The crew were scattering to different locations to carry out their roles and then they started lifting the panel.  They had several lift lines which could be controlled individually to allow the, to rotate the panel as required.  Sadly I had to go before they finished.  I should be back before too long, though, so I shall see how progress is going.

 

Ospreys on the Docks

AU0E1643.jpgI might have been visiting Mare Island to see the museum and surrounding area but I also got to fit in some wildlife viewing while I was there.  I had stepped out of the back of the museum towards one of the dry docks.  One of the guys working in a business nearby starting chatting and saying how he wished he had a long lens with him to photograph the ospreys.  I could hear a lot of noise but he pointed out the source.  All of the high structures around the docks be they cranes or gantries seemed to have a nest on them.  Ospreys were all over the place.  They had access to the fishing in the water a short distance away so the metalwork was providing a great vantage point with plenty of privacy.

AU0E1670.jpgThe noise from the nest close to me was pretty loud.  A chick was obviously awaiting some food.  At first I thought the parents were going to come right in but then I realized that there were so many nests that the birds I could see flying were not necessarily anything to do with this chick.  I don’t know whether it had worked that out, though, given the noise it was making when any bird came close.  I have no idea how much the nest impact the operation of the machinery and whether there are any restrictions on what can be done when they are in place but they are clearly all over the place.

Sandhill Cranes

wpid13712-C59F6002.jpgIt is funny who something you will be doing or watching will trigger a memory and then I find myself wondering whether it is something that has appeared on the blog or not. The longer the blog runs, the harder it is to remember whether it was going when something happened or whether I have had a previous time when I thought I should cover something older. The sandhill crane migration is one such event.

wpid13720-C59F6270.jpgThe first time I came across the cranes was when we were driving through Nebraska. The fields were full of birds although, for a while, we didn’t realize that was what they were. From the interstate as we zoomed along, there was obviously something in the fields but we couldn’t tell whether it was a plant or a creature. Then we saw a lot more of them flying and it became clear. We were making a lot of distance on that trip, though, so we didn’t stop to investigate.

wpid13700-C59F5675.jpgI later saw individual cranes at various spots within reach of Chicago, often up in Wisconsin but sometimes in the northern edge of Illinois. However, these were usually one or two at a time. I was advised by my friends, though, of the big migration that comes through Indiana. The place to go is Jasper Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in Indiana. This was a couple of hours or so from home and you wanted to be there for sunrise so it was an early start.

wpid13698-C59F5654.jpgThe location is popular with the migrating birds and they hang out in the fields in huge numbers. As the sun comes up, they get more active and start to take to the wing. It is early in the morning so the light can be really good. Added to that is a viewing platform that is positioned so put you up sun from the birds. It can be a touch chilly and sometimes breezy so dressing warmly was a big deal but it was worth it.

wpid13718-C59F6166.jpgYou could either watch the individual birds as they flew or appreciate the huge numbers as they flocked together. They were everywhere. The noise was impressive too. Compared to visits that my friends have made, I think the birds were staying away a bit while I was there so a lot of this was long lens work. Even so, there were still quite a few that flew close to us. Forgetting the photography for a moment, the spectacle of some many large birds taking wing is something not to be missed if the opportunity presents itself.

Cranes – Probably Not Here!

A sign of spring is when wildlife starts showing up that you haven’t seen for a while.  I had a couple of experiences within a day of each other of exactly this.  One seemed perfectly reasonable but the other was probably not the best idea.  We were walking in a state park up in Wisconsin when we heard a lot of noise.  At first I thought it was geese but, as the huge flock of birds approached, it became obvious that they were cranes.

The cranes flew around a lot as we walked, some were high but others were quite low.  We walked on with not too much more attention to them as they honked their way around the area.   However, the following day I was down at O’Hare.  I saw something large and wispy in the sky and realized that it was a flock of birds.  As they came closer, lo and behold but more cranes were coming to town!

Now, O’Hare is not exactly a bird friendly location.  Having flocks of pretty substantial birds in the vicinity of so many aircraft did not appear to be a particularly good combination.  The birds swirled around for a couple of minutes, fortunately a little higher than the aircraft on approach.  Then they drifted off in a different direction and i didn’t see them again.  Not a great idea but, thankfully, no harm done this time!