Rollercoaster ride

Five days after taking delivery of a new Tadano AC 3.055-1 all terrain crane Euskirchen, Germany-headquartered crane service provider BSH used it for one of its specialties:

dismantling an amusement ride.

BSH used the crane to dismantle one of the main rollercoasters at the Düsseldorf Rhine Fair. The rollercoaster had a top height of 32 metres, a track length of over 1000 metres and, when in action, the rollercoaster reached a top speed of 80 km/h.

BSH worked in conjunction with a ten-person specialist rollercoaster dismantling team and, in total, there were 600 tonnes of steel, plus add-on components, to take apart.

The crane used boom lengths between 24 metres and the maximum possible 50 m, with the largest radius at 36 m. It took two-and-a-half days to dismantle the ride.

Due to the nature of the theme park space was limited. “You’d be surprised at the extreme variety of objects that get in the way when putting together and tearing down amusement rides,” says BSH’s senior director Peter Barth. “Thanks to the crane’s Flex Base system we can extend the crane’s outriggers all the way up to the actual obstacles even in asymmetrical configurations and then use the IC-1 Plus to take advantage of the crane’s maximum available lifting capacity.”

To carry out the job the crane travelled from Euskirchen to Düsseldorf with its full counterweight and a 12-tonne axle load. No additional transportation vehicles were required.

According to Tadano, the crane took just 15 minutes to setup. 

“The biggest challenge was to keep the way clear for other show people when positioning the crane,” said junior director Peter Barth. “And this was important since things always get really hectic on setup and teardown days and everyone obviously wants to get to the next fairground as quickly as possible. The crane’s compact design really came through for us there.”

Because it was the first time BSH had used this crane, Tadano sent an employee to Düsseldorf to provide any help or advice required.