01.11.06
New electric track trolley developed for Tubelines
In 2004, Consillia started working closely with Transplant, the plant hire division of Tubelines, to develop a new four-man electric motorised trolley and associated trailer system. The objective was to achieve a unit capable of transporting four people and their equipment to site – the unit had to be capable of meeting not only all of the stringent safety criteria required, but also the technical specification developed by Tubelines over a number of years.
A number of challenges in developing the new trolley, the MEC-4, were obvious, such as achieving weight targets whilst maintaining the design life requirement of the equipment. In order to ensure that specification was met, all units were subjected to finite element analysis to prove that the operational life was achievable. Alongside this a significant amount of on track running to shake down any inherent handling and design issues was undertaken which resulted in a number of minor changes.
“The design process was significantly aided by the excellent partnership built up between the design team and Transplant,” commented Graham Limb, Consillia’s Technical Director. “Understanding the operational requirement of the end user allowed us to build the MEC series of motorised trolleys and the MTRL trailers in a way that provides both flexibility and longevity,” he added.
Delivery of the first 19 MEC-4s and 37 MTRL trailers was completed in July 2006 and are the only units available that fully meet Tubelines requirements today. As a system suitable for any rail network the first orders for trolleys outside of Tubelines have been received and are currently in production.
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email us directly at [email protected]