City
The long journey of six giant beer vats to Toronto
In addition to the TTC fare hike theatrics we witnessed earlier this week, another kind of drama was unfolding along the highways between Hamilton and Toronto. For the last few days, six giant beer vats have slowly plodded their wayt through the last 108 kilometres of a journey that started in Burgstadt, Germany and that will end sometime tonight or early tomorrow morning at the Molson Coors Brewery on Carlingview Drive. The vats were originally supposed to arrive early today, but cold weather and difficulties with hydro wires that needed to be taken down to accommodate the over-sized vehicles have led to a slight delay.
Here are a few of the somewhat staggering statistics related to the journey:
- $24 million (cost for the tanks and the move)
- 40+ support vehicle convoy (police cars, utility vehicles)
- 35 police officers (to guide the trucks and control traffic)
- 250 traffic lights taken down and put back up
- 1600+ Hydro wires lifted or taken down to accommodate the vats)
- More than five and a half million bottles of beer can fit in the tanks
And here's what it has looked like out on the roads (lead photo by BigBrotherBear) :
Photo by jwvraets.
Also by jwvraets.
Photo by JDB Photos.
Also by JDB Photos.
Photo by Dieseltheque.
Photo by Louis Tam.


Discussion
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Stop trying to put a negative spin on everything regarding the city. Oh and people happen to love beer in this city, and they could be the fittest and healthiest people as well.
Wow.
In any event, thanks for the photos. That's a *lot* of beer potential. Frightening, in fact.
2 Vats were used and shipped from Toronto (over 200km) and 2 were new from the same German manufacturer. They were shipped over the Atlantic to Sarnia and trucked to London from there (about the same distance as this convoy) Both had delays due to hydro lines, cold and snowsqualls.
Wow! great photos. The guy is in his early 50's. Ewww
*Yes, I said Skydome!
I just kinda wish it wasn't all in the name of shitty beer.
I Still don't get why people drink Canadian or Coors when some craft brews are 50 cents more for a six pack.
Because there's a recession going on, HST abounds in the land, and things cost a lot-that's why people are being driven to drink said 'shitty beer'.
To be frank, and as a non-beer drinker, I really wish this was about the building of the subway or LRT, too-or maybe even the launch of spacecraft into space (the beer thingies do indeed look like parts of a Saturn V rocket.) Beer does not interest me as a beverage-I mostly like wine cooler (about once a year.)
show us your tits
How come not one article about these new tanks has mentioned the expense and pain of moving the old tanks, which seem to have been wasted?
Where's the irony you refer to?
Do you really think anyone will start drinking more beer as a result of a factory upgrading or modernizing its facility?
Drinking too much beer interferes with the abilities to think and communicate. Maybe there's some irony here afterall, eh?
Do you know the factory where the tanks were produced ?
Greetings from Germany !