GGR Group has been helping to transform Edinburgh’s Waverley train station recently, with Unic mini spider cranes being hired to provide lifting power in some hard to reach areas.

Bustling Waverley station was first opened over 150 years ago then rebuilt in 1900 in a common Victorian station style with traditional architectural features such as traverse ridge and furrow roofs and an ornate domed ceiling. Now GGR’s Unic mini cranes are helping to give this city landmark a modern edge by working on its refurbishment project.

The historic Waverley Steps are used by approximately five million people each year and have recently been refurbished to provide better access to the station for the public. Recently GGR Group was asked to help glaze the overhead canopy which was designed to let light in as well as protect the steps from rainy weather.

The Unic URW-376 mini crane worked from a rooftop to lift triangular pieces of glass over the balustrade onto the steel canopy structure ready to be fixed into place. The small glass panels could be manoeuvred precisely into position using the crane and a MT2 glass vacuum lifter. The two vacuum pads on this lightweight 135kg capacity dual circuit lifter were tilted to lift the glass in a horizontal position.

This isn’t the first time a Unic URW-376 has visited Edinburgh Waverley, the 2.9 tonne capacity crane was also used to erect crash deck scaffolding inside the station.

After first lifting steel beams to support the scaffold’s structure, the compact crane then lifted 30 aluminium crash deck modules into place. Using a Unic crane for this job meant that it could be completed six times quicker than if it was attempted manually, with less personnel required to work on the site and at height.

To find out how GGR’s lifting equipment can be used on station redevelopment projects and for other rail industry work visit the GGR Rail website.