The first of two huge generators bound for the Three Mile Island nuclear plant passes through the southbound tunnel on Route 272 at Smithville, south of Willow Street, Thursday afternoon.
The two generators bound for TMI travel up the Buck hill Thursday Morning.
The two generators bound for TMI pass by the Buck Motor Sports Park Thursday Morning.
State police usher spectators off the roadway on Route 272 at Truce Road Thursday as the two generators bound for TMI pass.
Hundreds of spectators lined Route 272 at spots from south of the Buck to near Willow Street Thursday to watch the two French made generators that are being transported to Three Mile Island. This picture is where the generators were taken over a gravel bridge that was built over the Pequea Creek.
Donald Greenawalt remembered what a big deal it was in the 1960s when he drove a 125-ton boiler from Beaver Falls to Lancaster's Armstrong Cork Co.
"They wouldn't let us on the Turnpike," Greenawalt, 73, said. "They had to interrupt the governor at a ball. They let us on but we had to pay $1 a mile."
Memories of that boiler moved the Providence Township resident to show up Thursday at the Route 272 tunnel at Smithville to catch a glimpse of a truly super-sized wide load.
VIDEO: Generators travel from Buck to near Willow Street
Sitting in a car with his wife, Judy, and their poodle, Mopsy, Greenawalt was eager to see the twin 500-ton generators bound for the Three Mile Island nuclear plant navigate the narrow railroad tunnel.
It was a tight fit but the rigs made it through the arched Low Grade rail line overpass in the southbound lanes. Throngs of onlookers stood by with cameras.
Engineers had measured and re-measured the tunnel's dimensions.
But, just to be sure, a "pole vehicle" entered the tunnel ahead of the two 26-axle transports. The vehicle indeed had a vertical pole the same height as the generators mounted on it.
If the tip of the pole had touched the stone arch anywhere, an electronic signal would have been sent to the driver.
Day 3 of the journey through Lancaster County saw the convoy chug up its first major hill. After a one-hour mechanical delay at the bottom of the hill at the Buck, the rigs moved at a snail-like 1 mph.
Onlookers lined the route, taking in the slow-moving spectacle.
After passing through the tunnel, the generators used a specially built road to bypass the Route 272 bridge across Pequea Creek before stopping for the night.
The temporary road, fashioned with thousands of pounds of stone and eight concrete culverts, had to be partially removed Sept. 11, when heavy rains caused flooding.
Thursday morning, workers were still using heavy equipment to compact the road, which was rebuilt for the crossing. Dozens of sheets of plywood were placed across the surface so the transports wouldn't sink.
On Wednesday, temporary ramps placed over existing bridges were used for the first time. The "over-bridges" were used along Route 272 across Conowingo Creek and Little Conowingo Creek. Traveling at an average speed of 3 mph, the transports covered 9 miles Wednesday.
The generators are expected to spend another 10 days crawling through Lancaster County before reaching TMI on Sept. 30.
E-mail: acrable@lnpnews.com