Some years ago I mentioned on this blog that I do like to build cranes. Lacking any serious equipment I prefer to make them from Lego.

Other engineers have better machine parks and can build bigger cranes, real ones. But they still have, like me, also fun playing with them.

They did so on the recent Liebherr customer day.

Here the biggest conventional crawler crane of the world, the LR 13000 with a maximum lift capacity of 3,000 metric tons, is lifting a LR 11350 (1,350 mt max cap.) which is lifting a LR 1350 (350 mt max cap.) which is lifting a LTR 1100 with (100 mt max cap.).

That is not all yet. That LTR 1100 is lifting a plate with a 1:50 model of an LG 1750 which lifts a 1:87 model of an LTM 1045.

Did I mention that engineers love to play?

The total weight of the six cranes assembly as shown, including all counterweights, is 5,000 metric tons and it is in perfect balance. Quite a mountain of high tension steel for a little playful show like this. By the way – 147 trucks are currently on their way to deliver the first sold 3,000 ton lifter for a refinery project in Whiting, Indiana (Here it is shown lifting its structural test load of 3,371 metric tons.)

More pictures of the six cranes lift are here, here and here. There are also a few videos showing the lift: here, a longer one here and another one.