HLI Rail & Rigging Moved Yankee Dryer in Pennsylvania

Ross McLaren, Partner & Director of Rigging Operations at HLI Rail & Rigging, USA, recently completed a complicated Yankee Dryer move, which he planned and managed from start to finish.The project involved circumventing many challenges.

HLI Rail & Rigging moved a ‘Yankee Dryer’ –a pressure vessel used in the production of tissue paper –300 miles (500km) from Erie to Lock Haven in Pennsylvania.

Dimensions of the unit were 9 m x 5.7 m x 5.8 m, with a weight of 130 tons; it was the largest piece of equipment to move out of Erie and required 16 months to get permit approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Transport (DOT).

HLI chose aTrail KingTK 350 perimeter frame trailer for the move. The total length of the combination was 217 ft, 4 inches (66.2 m).

Among the challenges of the project, HLI had to find an alternative route to move the equipment as the initial proposal became impassable due to heavy rains in the summer of 2019.

Once the alternative route had been decided, many signs and overhead obstructions needed to be removed; the central reservations of several highways needed filling so that the trailer combination could make ‘U’ turns to avoid fixed overhead obstructions, and 48 bridges needed engineering work. Over 4,000 overhead power lines had to be lifted to facilitate the safe passage of the Yankee Dryer on its trailer.

Along the route, the convoy had to tackle steep hills to climb through the Allegheny Forest and, in many places, the 6 m-wide trailer was the same width as the road, which required careful management of the support bucket trucks to avoid major damage to property and enable the trucks to go around the load.

HLI Rail & Rigging employed and managed over 20 contractors, and also, a third prime mover was on standby throughout the move, which was completed in 12 days, to assist up hills and deal with the winter road conditions.

Please see our project brochure here.

Meet us at the WCA Projects Conference in Hamburg, May 29-31.

Contact: Ross McLaren <[email protected]>

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