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Lampson's Big Unit

Truck Shop

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Dec 7, 2015
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Lampson crane manufacturing is just 45 miles down the road from me in Pasco, Wa. My brother and I drove there on a Sunday
afternoon and took some photos. There was no one around and we could have walked right up to it, It's a Monster. The specs
are in this link. That fine looking 97 F350 Power Stroke with 50K total belongs to my brother BOB.

http://www.lampsoncrane.com/Products_LTL_3000.html

spring 2015 002.jpgspring 2015 001.jpgspring 2015 006.jpgspring 2015 007.jpgspring 2015 009.jpg
 

Truck Shop

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Your close, Hitachi had it built for use on nuclear building sites in Japan I believe.

Truck Shop.
 

RZucker

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Wherever I end up
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I was down there 2 weeks ago and yes the boom is a very prominent fixture in the skyline. Seems to me the 2k ton machine back in the early 2001-2002 era had a much longer boom. Maybe this one is just "stockier". Back in the 90s my brother worked for them as a machinist, and more than once I got the "cooks tour" of their facility. Pretty amazing place. I also had a friend that did contract heavy haul for them some years back.
 

chevota84

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Apr 12, 2011
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Prineville OR
c32fcd9c7a47616c95fd7261d6923372.jpg


That's 4 or 5 miles I think
 

RonG

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Meriden ct
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Wow,I wonder how much that counterweight weighs?Ron G
 

Truck Shop

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Wow,I wonder how much that counterweight weighs?Ron G

Gee Ron I have no guess on that. But I can tell you I stood about 30 yards from it, and it was one hell of pile of concrete. I stand 6'2" and
Those tracks were damn high. It looked like you could make a D7 out of that hook.:cool:
 

GregD1

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Oct 6, 2013
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221
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Tonopah, Az.
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Equipment for a paving contractor
It`s the smaller looking brother to Big Blue, At least it looks like it. Big Blue was the one that fell over setting roof trusses a few years back. I saw Big blue at one of the power plant years back setting the reactor dome. Impressive machine it was.
 

old-iron-habit

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Moose Lake, MN
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Retired Cons't. Supt./Hospitals
Hope the people using it keep that pile of concrete counterweight on it. Remember Big Blue at Miller stadium in Milwaukee trying to set the roof section in the wind. No crane is safe from bad management on the job.
 

Truck Shop

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It`s the smaller looking brother to Big Blue, At least it looks like it. Big Blue was the one that fell over setting roof trusses a few years back. I saw Big blue at one of the power plant years back setting the reactor dome. Impressive machine it was.

This crane is 3,000 ton the Big Blue is 2,600 ton. Boom can be extended to 800 ft. It's been setting for two years. Lampson was paid and Hitachi hasn't
come up with a job for it yet. Their plans fell through.
 

John C.

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Maybe could hold the viaduct from falling over if that things gets underneath it.
 

Jim D

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California
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equipment operator
Hope the people using it keep that pile of concrete counterweight on it. Remember Big Blue at Miller stadium in Milwaukee trying to set the roof section in the wind. No crane is safe from bad management on the job.

I've only seen a short video of that accident. Was the Milwaukee accident due to an incorrect configuration of that crane?
 

tctractors

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Worc U.K.
This "Hook" looks impressive I hope it makes plenty of good lifts in its day and manages to keep clear of any issues that doomed the "Blue" as that accident was not the Cranes fault, to sort out the Milwaukee Stadium roof section a Crane was shipped in from the Dutch Boys all packed in sea going containers, after the crane is assembled the containers are used as ballast blocks filled with sand.
tctractor.

p.s. Bob's set of wheels look sharp.
 

OMB

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NH
I've only seen a short video of that accident. Was the Milwaukee accident due to an incorrect configuration of that crane?

I read somewhere the lift was made in winds that exceeded the design for that loading/configuration. If I remember correctly that crane has 3 operators and all 3 went ahead with the lift in spite of not being inside the machine parameters- 10 mph winds- the GC was concerned with staying on schedule and pushed for the lift. I think 3 ironworkers in a basket were killed because there wasn't 1 person to standup and say "no".
 

old-iron-habit

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I read somewhere the lift was made in winds that exceeded the design for that loading/configuration. If I remember correctly that crane has 3 operators and all 3 went ahead with the lift in spite of not being inside the machine parameters- 10 mph winds- the GC was concerned with staying on schedule and pushed for the lift. I think 3 ironworkers in a basket were killed because there wasn't 1 person to standup and say "no".


They had canceled smaller lifts at lower elevations in less wind on other days. As always there was a multitude if reasons that lined up. The wind was at the lifting limit and a bit erratic. The load was the heaviest and the highest of all of them. The wind meter was 100 and some feet below the boom tip so it was not reading the wind correctly. As soon as the lift cleared the walls its started to drift downwind with no stopping it. Three men killed. One went down with the iron, two were in an observation basket on the down hill side of the load and it took them and the crane they were hanging from out on the way down. I was building a hospital near there at the time and most of our normal iron worker crew was at the stadium as we were in between iron setting phases. One, a good friend of mine was the last person hoisted to his connection point before the lift went haywire. He had the highest connection point and they set him on the iron about 40 ft from his point. 100% tie off saved him. He was working to get to his point in time when the roof went down. It tore the section off where he was supposed to be had he been hoisted up on time. He got tossed off the iron as it shook and hanging from his harness was able to scramble back on to the steel. It was a long time before they got him and others down. Everyone had to sign off on the lift plan. A bit of macho got in the way also. A few said lets do it so they all become sheep and went along with it other than become wimps. Many regret still not saying something. If anything good came out of it its that things have changed on attitude of critical picks. The one thing I have always wondered about is that OSHA was on site supposedly filming the erection in order to work out safe working practices but no video has ever come out from them. They were kinda quite on the whole ordeal, not like they usually are.
 
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qball

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il
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local 150 operator
The famous video was taken by an OSHA official. The regular operator of big blue wouldn't run the rig on the day of the wreck, so a company hand jumped in.
 

old-iron-habit

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The famous video was taken by an OSHA official. The regular operator of big blue wouldn't run the rig on the day of the wreck, so a company hand jumped in.

The best video I have seen was taken by a Japanese tourist riding past in a car filming it as it went over. You are correct about the operator. Lots of bad judgement calls that day due to schedule concerns.
 
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