Mini Spider Crane Installs Ventilation Equipment at UK Railway Station

A Unic mini spider crane hired from restricted access lifting specialists GGR Group was used to install ventilation louvres at London’s new Canary Wharf Station, part of the Crossrail project.

GGR’s red mini spider crane featured in the third episode of BBC Two’s Crossrail television documentary series “The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway”.

Subcontractor Lakesmere Group needed to install six 1.3t “performance hood” louvre ventilation units underneath a cantilever soffit on the East and West elevations of the station.

The louvre units needed to be lifted and installed in two halves at a 54 degree angle as well as underneath a deep overhang which would have been impossible with a traditional tower crane. Lakesmere considered using scaffolding but this would have would have been logistically and economically problematic.

A 6t capacity Unic URW-706 mini spider crane was selected and a temporary platform on the dockland waters was set up to provide access for the crane. The mini crane lifted the surrounding steel frame for each unit, before lifting and holding each half louvre at a 54 degree angle ready for fixing. It took only one day to lift each louvre, a total of six days for each elevation.

Since early 2012 GGR Group has worked on over 30 different jobs at Canary Wharf Station. The URW-706 was used to glaze the entire 185m-long elevation on both sides of the station.