1957 The transportation of a bridge girder from Butterley Ironworks in Derbyshire.

The film begins colour footage of one of the Pelham Bridge girders being sprayed with paint at Butterley Ironworks yard at Codnor in Derbyshire. This is followed by black and white footage of the last of four large bridge girders being lifted on to a Bowmer and Kirkland Scammell low loader using two steam railway cranes. The focus then shifts to the loading of one of the longest girder sections (95ft) on to a special bogie vehicle with rear steering supplied by Bowmer and Kirkland. Initially the front drive unit is lined up with the rear at the correct distance using a taught rope as a guide. In concert the steam cranes then lift the second girder off a flatbed rail carriage, move into position and lower it on to the front and rear bogie units. The load then begins its journey to Lincoln by first manoeuvring carefully out of the yard and on to the main road. It is shown passing through residential areas and negotiating a difficult corner in Alfreton.
Notes:
Pelham Bridge in Lincoln was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 27 June 1958. The steel structure of the bridge was supplied and erected by Butterley Company Limited of Derbyshire. The bridge is supported on rubber bearings, the first time that this technology was used in the UK. The architects were Robert Atkinson and Partners, London.
© The Media Archive for Central England