Huge machine moved for first time

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The BBC's Gavin Walker explains how the machine is being moved

A huge cement works machine which is the largest of its kind in Europe and is more than seven double decker buses high is being moved for the first time.

Engineers in East Lothian have been preparing the difficult operation for weeks at the Lafarge site.

The mammoth bridge-like structure is used to remove soil and rock debris from limestone quarrying in Dunbar.

The 1,034 tonnes machine was built onsite in 1981 and will take days to be moved half a mile to a new quarry.

It is a bridge with a hydraulic drive at each end, both of which are electrically driven, and is being moved along a specially built path down a steep slope.

The biggest issue to overcome is a relatively steep incline, which it is simply not designed to handle Lafarge spokeswoman

It moves up to 1,500 tonnes of debris per hour, or an estimated four million tonnes each year.

When working on the now completed north west quarry, it was decided that the transporter would provide a more environmentally beneficial and cost effective way of moving the soil than truck and shovel.

Now the transporter is being moved half a mile to the new north east quarry, which will be worked on over the next 40 years.

While it was designed in Germany, it was built in Scotland, mainly from steel. It was recently refurbished at a cost of £4m and moves at 50m per hour.

A Lafarge spokeswoman said: "The biggest issue to overcome is a relatively steep incline, which it is simply not designed to handle.

"As a result, around 10 people are currently on full-time detail planning this mammoth move."

The move began on Friday.