LOWER AND LAY

PIPE HOME LINCOLNSHIRE FIRST STEPS STRINGING FRONT END INSPECTION COATING LOWER & LAY TIE-INS & FABS SIDEBOOMS AUGER TUNNELING HD DRILLING TRENCHING & BACKFILL PIPELINERS REINSTATEMENT THE LAST TIE-IN OLD TIMES DEREK's 1966 Have Your Say TOM THOMSON

OR DITCHING THE MAIN LINE ......

The pipe has been welded, coated and inspected, the trench dug, and now it's time to get it into the ground

The sidebooms gather.........

Up to six sidebooms move in one by one and take up the weight of the pipe..

This 360 digger with the clever blade sweeps all the bearers and debris out of the path of the booms

And slow and steady they move off down the spread..

And they disappear into the distance

The end of the pipe is held in the air whilst the tie-in is cut to size

from up and down the line

When everyone is in line, the rear booms swing the pipe out over the trench

In a process known as "walking it in", the booms take turns in relaxing their strop, moving forward a length, and taking the weight again, the rear two guiding the pipe into the trench.

every inch given a final careful inspection before it goes below the ground

This Murphy surveyor (whoops) marks the final resting place of each joint on GPS

Then the welders move in

THE PIPE IS IN THE GROUND.....

Free