Longsight Lengthens List of Mechan Equipment

Mechan’s bogie stacking frames in use at Longsight, Manchester © AlstomSheffield-based Mechan continues to be a key equipment manufacturer and supplier to Manchester’s home of high speed trains, the Alstom Traincare Centre. The firm is celebrating its most recent order from the facility, known as Longsight, for 66 bogie stacking frames that will be used to kit out a new storage facility being built on site.

The stacking frames provide secure storage for various bogies, including Alstom’s class 390s, the electric Pendolinos serving the West Coast mainline.

This new order follows hot on the heels of a request for a pair of Mechan’s eight-tonne bogie frame rotators and a small knuckle jib crane, required to facilitate the class 334 ScotRail bogie overhaul activity. These were installed in Longsight’s new bogie overhaul facility, to give safe and ergonomic access to bogies requiring maintenance and overhaul.  

Lee Pitts, Mechan’s sales engineer, said:

“Longsight probably has more Mechan equipment than any other depot, including the largest set of synchronised jacks in the UK. The chain of 44 was installed in 2012, following the introduction of 11-car Pendolinos and is still the longest we have ever produced. We value greatly our ongoing partnership with Alstom and it is a pleasure to see that by retaining exceptional standards of build quality and service, we continue to secure orders at this high tech train maintenance centre.”

Mechan enjoys a 15-year relationship with the Longsight Traincare Centre and equipment supplied during this time has included powered bogie turntables, jib cranes, coupler presses and bogie stacking frames. All products are covered by a number of preventative and reactive maintenance contracts, ensuring they are kept in ideal working condition and provide the reliability for which the firm’s products are renowned.

For more information, please visit Mechan.