Question:
___What can Dalton Trucking
move?
Answer:
___Practically anything!
If you ask me, Dalton Trucking can do just about everything
pertaining to land transportation. This was just reproven
recently when again the “Can Do Crew” was
called upon to handle a very delicate move.
Chris Bowman standing
in front of the great doors with world-renowned artist,
Mr. Graham.
Ride and Show Engineering contacted me to see if we could
help them move three very large pieces out of their indoor
facility and into their back parking lot for final assembly.
At the jobsite, I was amazed to see what exactly these
three pieces were. As a famous radio personality would
say, “and now the rest of the story.” These
three pieces were actually one-of-a-kind sculptures being
fabricated by the world famous artist Robert Graham. These
were the main entrance doors for the new Our Lady of Angeles
Cathedral that was being built for the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
The doors (two pieces) were inside the manufacturing facility
lying on their backs. They needed to be moved outside
so that they could be erected and fitted in the same position
they would be at the Cathedral. The third piece, the Tympanum
(top piece), also needed to be placed outside and then
enclosed so that the artist could then place gold in the
area that the Blessed Virgin Mary was to be placed. After
careful planning with Dalton Trucking's diverse assortment
of forklifts and cranes we mobilized a crew to move these
doors and Tympanum (Top Piece) from within Ride and Show's
facility to their outside lot. With literally six inches
to spare, all went well. Both doors were installed exactly
as required (facing the sun exactly as if at the Cathedral).
Mr. Graham and Mr. Edward Feuer, CEO of Ride and Show,
were impressed with our work. They asked me if DTI would
be interested in continuing to assist in this project.
“Indeed DTI would be interested” I proclaimed.
An integral part of
the delivery of these massive doors was Dalton's Peterbilt
truck crane #199. Mr. Graham and the other participants
were very impressed with the crane's ability to get
the doors in position. This dual-purpose machine is
rated at 22 ton capacity.
The various stages
would involve placing the smaller inner doors inside the
large doors and moving the Tympanum outside. Installation
of a bronze sculpture of the Virgin Mary into the Tympanum
then took place. All of these phases went so well that
we were asked to do the actual installation at the Cathedral.
Each door measured 24' high by 16' wide; the Tympanum
that goes above the doors measured 10' high by 32' wide.
Each piece is a "one-of-a-kind" irreplaceable
work of art. As Robert Graham said, "this project
can never be replaced; I have spent five years of my life
working on it." The Tympanum as well as the larger
doors are covered with bronze and brass and are quite
literally works of art. The two smaller doors were cast
bronze done in Robert Graham's Venice California studio
along with the statute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It
should be noted that the area directly behind the Virgin
Mary is covered in Gold that was meticulously placed by
the artist. In addition, on the smaller doors, there are
40 small hand cast bronze depictions of various cultural
and religious events.
On Sunday, May 19, there was a dedication ceremony at
the Ride and Shows facility where Cardinal Roger Mahony,
of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, blessed the massive bronze
doors. During the blessing ceremony, he had asked for
a safe journey for the doors, the tympanum and the Dalton
crew. I was personally blessed by Cardinal Mahoney.
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On
Monday, our expert crew, with the aid of our alliance
partner, Marco Crane and Rigging of Santa Fe Springs (headed
by branch manager Mr. Mike Dean), began the delicate task
of loading and securing all three pieces. After hours
of careful crane work (two cranes were used), precise
handling and proper securing, the loading procedure was
completed. Both doors required special brackets manufactured
to keep them suspended above the trailer decks to prevent
damage.
This picture shows
the magnitude of just how large the bronze sculpture
of the Virgin Mary (middle) and the doors (right) are.
At midnight our
procession included a supervisor, three trucks, seven
escort pilot cars, an L.A. county inspector, a van with
Mr. Graham, his wife, lovely actress Angelica Huston,
plus Mr. Graham's assistant and also the editor of Vanity
Fair Magazine along with various film crew members.
The
Tympanum is being lifted into place. You can see that
we only had fractions of an inch for clearance.
We departed
San Dimas heading for Los Angeles. By using various city
streets and traveling no more than 25 miles per hour,
we were able to ensure a smooth and safe trip. There was
only one small glitch along the way when a drunk driver
struck a power pole and there were high voltage lines
across our route. With the help of California Highway
Patrol officers, we were able to locate a new route and
were on our way once again. Arriving safely at exactly
3:00 a.m. at the Cathedral, we began the erection of all
three pieces. Through careful planning and following detailed
diagrams, we were done by early afternoon. An integral
part of the delivery of these massive doors was Dalton's
Peterbilt truck crane #199. This dual-purpose machine
has served DTI well and is frequently needed by our customers.
It has a 22-ton capacity. Many congratulatory thanks and
praises were given to my elite crew by Mr. Graham, Mr.
Feuer, Cardinal Mahony and the many dignitaries that had
witnessed the installation. This project was a challenge,
but the personal reward that I have experienced cannot
be measured. Yes, larger things have been transported
by Dalton Trucking, but none as priceless as these pieces
are in both value and prestige. I wish to personally thank
Mr. Graham and Mr. Feuer for their confidence in me and
in Dalton Trucking.
The
finished product.
A special thanks
goes to Mike Harrington, of Ride & Show Engineering,
Inc., for supplying the pictures for this article.
To restate the question
at the beginning of this article, “What can Dalton
Trucking move? The answer: Anything! We have everything
required to handle your transportation needs, including
forklifts, cranes and rigging to assist in loading and
unloading as well as disassembly and reassembly. So remember,
if you have just one piece or a whole plant that needs
to be moved, please call Chris
Bowman at ext. 1590 or Matt
Klenske at ext. 1560. Don't forget to ask him about
our truck crane #199!
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