When it comes to work in the rail sector the growing Hall Bros. fleet of Bobcat machines is right on track.
Essex-based Hall Bros. is much more than a successful groundworks construction company. The business specialises in all areas of general contract construction within the private and public sectors. No job (or client) is too big or too small and the company completes most of this varied work with an expanding fleet of different types of Bobcat equipment. As well as work for local councils, public sector organisations and commercial clients up and down the country, one of the most important segments is the UK rail industry.
Work for the Rail Sector
Hall Bros. is a registered supplier under the Link Up Rail Industry Qualification Scheme and is currently preparing for ISO accreditation. The company carries out work for a number of railway clients including Network Rail and Abellio Greater Anglia and has been contracted by Network Rail to improve a number of level crossings throughout East Anglia since 2006.
This ongoing work involves the removal and replacement of level crossings, including resurfacing the approach roads and the application of road markings. Work is completed as and when needed, but almost always in a short seven-hour window at night when passenger trains have stopped running.
On one exceptional project that took place over a weekend, Network Rail hired Hall Bros. to remove and relay a level crossing in Essex in a very tight work window. In this case, the company removed crossing panels to enable Network Rail to install a new section of the track. Hall Bros. removed and replaced concrete bearing beams and foundations and replaced with new. The company then installed new ‘strail’ crossing panels and re-surfaced the approach road and applied road markings.
Using a 10-man team, Hall Bros. completed the job in the tight timescale set by Network Rail. This became even tighter when restrictions on train movements caused delays of approximately eight hours. Despite this, Hall Bros. finished the project in just 28 hours, finishing at 8 am on the Monday morning.
E88 Mini-Excavator
Though it is used for a wide variety of applications, the new E88 mini-excavator was purchased by Hall Bros. for a specific application in this work for the rail industry – to lift and position concrete beams on the level crossing jobs. This new eight tonne machine delivers outstanding performance, combined with compact dimensions, superb operator comfort and excellent stability with high digging output.
The E88 provides the operator with the full experience expected of a Bobcat R2-Series machine, adding new features and options such as an optional fourth AUX4 auxiliary tilt coupler line, a fifth AUX5 hydraulic coupler line as standard and a longer undercarriage. Bobcat´s acknowledged productivity is coupled with smooth controllability thanks to low effort joysticks and intuitive 5- or 7-Inch displays, class-leading visibility and exceptional transportability for its weight class.
As well as the E88 mini-excavator, Hall Bros. has assembled a growing fleet of the latest Bobcat products for the rail industry work, all supplied by Versatile Equipment, based in Borough Green in Kent, the Authorised Bobcat Dealer for Greater London and south-east England. In order of their arrival at the company before the E88, the other Bobcat equipment in the fleet now includes:
- A T650 compact track loader with a 1 m self-levelling planer/sweeper collector/4-in-1 combination bucket/pallet forks
- An E17z mini-excavator with height and slew restriction safety systems and a Bobcat breaker
- A Bobcat ATR26 tandem roller fitted with an additional joystick
- And the latest, a new Bobcat E27z mini-excavator
Working across various stations throughout East Anglia, Hall Bros. has made improvements to station car parks measuring from 100 to 1,000 square metres. The work has involved the removal of sections of the car park surfaces using a planer attachment mounted on a Bobcat loader, relaying with new tarmac materials and the application of new marking lines.
Martin Hall, Financial & Operational Director at Hall Bros., said: “We have worked closely with Phil Stoneham at Versatile Equipment to make sure we have the correct products in the fleet. In this way, we know that we can load up and transport all the Bobcat machines to site to meet the full needs of almost every project we undertake. This is especially important in our work for Network Rail and Greater Anglia where we tend to work at night under tight time constraints, so we need dependable, appropriate equipment to get the jobs done quickly and the Bobcat products help us always ensure high quality results.”
Martin Hall added: “We have an expanded group of Bobcat machines from which we can choose to carry out virtually any task. With the loader and the excavators, the flexibility they offer by being combined with a selection of Bobcat attachments such as the planers and the sweeper is immense. It is a fact that what you put on the front of the machine is often the most important element, especially in our work, so we are always looking to add new attachments that will help us on projects.”
Approaching 20 Years in Business
Martin Hall formed Hall Bros. in 2004 together with his brother, Steven, who is Managing Director. “We value our clients and suppliers,” enthuses Martin. “Our company is grateful for every work opportunity and any company we collaborate with. Clients are particular important to us, and we have been fortunate in being able to work closely with both Network Rail and Greater Anglia on many projects.”
