Technical Bulletin: Cutting lifting windows


While there are several ways for a crane to rig up to a railcar when setting it in place over a waterway, we will focus on one specific method: cutting windows in the deck.

The main things to focus on:

  1. Symmetrical: Keep the windows evenly spaced apart from each other.
  2. Prevent crossmember damage: Do not gouge into any of the crossmembers. Better yet, stay about 1/2" away from any crossmember. Reducing the window size is better than damaging a crossmember. 
  3. Ship windows with bridge: We will want to re-attach the windows after the bridge has set the railcar in place so please mark where the window goes so we can match it up later.
  4. Size matters: We need the window to be large enough to run a large chain or lifting cables through. Ideally, this is a 10" X 10" window but we can reduce that size in order to avoid any crossmember damage. 

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