Page 201 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

pig houses, but about 25 feet from the nearest point I could get to with the lorry. There was
a sheer drop of about five feet in the way as the ground levels changed.
The bin dimensions were about 12 feet wide by 8 feet wide. With the legs attached at the
bottom, the whole ‘lump’ was 30 feet long or high when stuck up in the air. It had taken
some time and care to take it down from its original site and lift onto the lorry;
consequently I knew this was going to be tricky, without the extra distance to ‘reach’.
It might help to explain that as the crane reaches further away from the lorry and extends
its nose as it were, then it looses its lifting power. Can you imagine lifting a bucket of water
with your arm fully outstretched?
It’s not possible, but if you try with a bent elbow you can manage. The same principal
works with the hydraulic crane. It is just like a huge hydraulic arm.
To place this bin in the exact required location would mean a full extension.

(Picture of Crane lorry.
All the time I drove the lorry I never
remembered to take any photos!
Rundles lorry at that time was similar to this
photograph. The crane was somewhat
smaller and the lorry only had two axles.
Remember we are talking about 1984!)

I had even been supplied with an extra
length of ‘H’ girder steel extension, ‘home
made’ by the chaps back at Rundles
engineering works. This hundredweight or so length of steel slipped into the end of the
extending arm to make it even longer. A little like holding a long rod in your fingers and
hanging the bucket of water onto that with your arm at full stretch.

THE BANANA
I managed to get the bin off the lorry and alongside. I added the extra extension with the
idea that I could perhaps crank the elbow of the jib more to cope with the weight at full
stretch.
The bin edged nearer to its spot and then the time came to lift it vertically.
Bit by bit I moved it further away gently walking it on its legs to keep some of the weight off
the crane. Then the last lap, to stand the bin totally erect and slide it into place on its
concrete base.
As I slowly raised the crane jib and extended the arm to full stretch to take the full weight
of the bin at full extent there was a protesting groan and the home made extension slowly
buckled under the pressure at the end of the jib and folded like a bent banana.
This piece of steel I must explain was made of H girder about 4 inches square and six feet
long. By no means a weakling, it weighed almost a hundredweight on its own. So the
“effort” being exerted on it must have been extreme.
Without the extension, there was no way I could reach the required spot so I had to drag
the bin gently back and lay it down flat on the ground.
The crane had actually coped remarkably well, it could have managed had it been longer,
or if the home made extension had been just a bit stronger!
On returning to the yard to explain my problem I was met by a contingent of workers from
the workshop. Word had got around, Keith had earned himself a nickname, “The Wrecker”.
This was to stick, and be reinforced!

201