Thömen assembles two railway bridges in Berlin with a Liebherr LR 1800-1.0

Deutsche Bahn is investing in the expansion of the rail network in Berlin and Brandenburg. The heavy haulage and crane company Thömen was awarded the contract to lift two bridges that carry the Berlin S-Bahn over Niemetzstraße, in May 2023. Thömen's operations manager Jens Hoffmeister reports: “The available space for the crane was limited to the width of the road and was therefore very cramped. There were no storage facilities for the crane parts. The assembly was carried out directly from the lorry to the crane, which required seamless logistical planning.” No problem for the professionals from Thömen, who set up the new LR 1800-1.0 with 90 tonnes of central ballast, 230 tonnes of slewing platform ballast and a 42 metre-long main boom. “The BTT-E wireless remote control is really very good. You can work excellently with it and control the crane while maintaining visual contact with the set-up process. Liebherr has developed a very good solution here,” explains Mike Roscher, who completed the first shift as crane driver. Dino Wachsbaum agrees: “The remote control makes assembly and disassembly so much easier. The entire transport and set-up concept for the LR 1800-1.0 is well thought out.”

Powerful and optimised for transport

The LR 1800-1.0 is considered a particularly powerful crawler crane that is known for its economical transportability worldwide. The basic machine is designed for a transport width of three metres and a maximum transport weight of 45 tonnes. The LICCON2 control system provides extended set-up options and monitored erection. With the standard BTT-E, the crawler crane's superstructure can be operated completely remotely. This means that all assembly processes can be monitored even more effectively and handled more efficiently.

Proceeding as planned

The first bridge was lifted into place after the 800-tonne crane had been assembled: a load case of 125 tonnes with a maximum radius of 25 metres. The bridge was installed on the neighbouring track during a night-time S-Bahn closure. During the second lift, the load added up to a total of 160 tonnes and a radius of 21 metres. This bridge remained in use for ongoing railway operations – with extra caution, of course. After completion of the work, Dino Wachsbaum said: “The operation went smoothly. I'm delighted with the LR 1800-1.0. In general, I'm very satisfied with the overall Liebherr package.”