Much Bigger Blue

Heads up all - I appreciate the passion, the concern, and some of your observations. This particular crane is NOT the Big Blue that collapsed in Milwaukee. It is a larger crane used in New Haven, CT in 2003. PLEASE keep your comments reasonable and non-confrontational. I don't want to disable comments, because you all have a lot to offer. But it's not fair to anyone to have to read or be the subject of abuse.

Please, have some respect, as you recognize the magnitude of the tragedy that occurred in Milwaukee.

You've heard of the Big Blue collapse...this crane was twice the capacity of the original Big Blue...check it out

The Crane:

3000 Ton Capacity (Rigged for 1500 at 176’ Radius)
51,000 Feet of 1 ½” Cable
56 Parts of Line
6,400,000 Lbs Counterweight
Boom – 2000 Lbs/FT
Mast – 1500 Lbs/FT
100+ Tons Rigging
1044 Ton Total Pick Weight

The Load (Bridge)

343’ Long
60’ Wide
50’ High
880 Tons Steel
27,000 Bolts
18” of Camber Induced for Bolt Alignment

Final set operation:

April, 2003 - CT DOT and Amtrak have arranged a Northeast Corridor track shutdown in New Haven, CT, so this bridge can be placed over the (de-energized) electrified tracks.

4 hour window of opportunity, from midnight to 4 am. This video was taken in pieces during the pick, and then run through a video processor to speed up by 10x. Not high quality, but pretty cool.

My guess is over 1000 onlookers were present...

Ironworkers commented to me afterwards that "it fit like a glove"...

Take a look here:

https://youtu.be/UtwwAv5nvKc

Видео Much Bigger Blue канала Marko Kaar