In the fall, Lampson Australia executed the monumental Mackay Monster Move, transporting a massive shuttle ship-loader boom built by Melco Engineering. The project faced challenges including railway crossings, overhead power lines, tight corners, and urban intersections.
The boom, measuring 43.5m long, 8.3m wide, 6.3m high, and weighing 175 tons, was loaded onto two nine-axle Goldhofer trailers using three overhead cranes. Universal and swivel bolsters allowed the load to pivot and rotate for maximum stability during transport. A convoy of nearly a dozen support vehicles accompanied the move from the build site south of Mackay to the city’s harbor.
Lampson deployed two Mack Titan prime movers configured for super-heavy haulage. Each truck featured 680-horsepower engines, Spicer ‘joey’ gearboxes, and hub-mounted reduction gears for a 210-tonne allowable GVM. The trailers, connected by draw and push bars with 10-ton counterweights, carried the full rig measuring 76.5m long, 8.3m wide, 6.5m high, and weighing nearly 345.5 tons, with the prime movers alone accounting for 44 tons.