TRUDE, Tunnel boring machine at Museum der Arbeit, Hamburg-Nord, Germany
TRUDE is a tunnel boring machine displayed in the courtyard of Museum der Arbeit in Hamburg-Nord that tunneled beneath the Elbe from 2000 to 2002. The cutting wheel stands 14.2 meters high and weighs 380 tons, making it the dominant feature of this outdoor exhibit.
The machine was deployed to excavate the fourth tunnel beneath the Elbe, moving 400,000 cubic meters of soil across a 2,560-meter route. This major engineering project in the early 2000s helped Hamburg alleviate traffic congestion and connect important districts on both river banks.
The name TRUDE comes from "Deep Down Under The Elbe" and reflects the machine's mission to bore beneath the river. It represents a moment when Hamburg needed to expand transportation links by tunneling under major waterways.
Visitors can walk into the cutting wheel via internal spokes to examine the machine's internal structure up close. Since it is displayed outdoors, plan your visit during dry weather and wear suitable footwear for safely walking through the interior passages.
The machine featured sensors that measured sound reflections to detect problem zones in the soil before the cutting wheel reached them. This advance warning allowed the operating team to prepare solutions and work more safely and efficiently underground.
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