Battleship Linoleum...There's a name I have not heard since.........
Yeah it weighs 300,000 pounds per sheet and each sheet is like 27'-5.6275" X 49.375 meters.
and it smells.
Oh did I mention it's heavy?
Back in the seventies, Canada's National Ballet used to tour with rolling racks of dark grey battleship linoleum. Every rolling rack held three rolls. To reduce damage, the rollers were (from memory) about 16" to 18" in diameter with the lowest
roller as low as was feasible and only minimal clearance between the rollers once they all had their linoleum rolled onto them. The carts were heavy (of necessity) when empty as their construction was welded steel with
iron tired casters. No rubber treads on those brutes. The cart's bases were rectangular supporting the uprights which were leaned back similar to a traditional scenery dolly in an effort to assist with the center of gravity. Even the "loaders" were willing to permit "hands" to help muscle the carts off the trucks and then four to six "hands" would stoop and strain as they put their shoulders into rolling each cart across the dock and into a
wing where they'd be parked beginning as lined up as possible to in alignment with the first
roller to be unrolled. Of course they were unloaded from the top down with the first
roll being unwound as far DS as they were planning on dancing. As the linoleum was heavy and thick yet easily ripped and damaged if not properly supported, gripped and handled; we'd begin unrolling with four "hands" (hands as in
stage hands, four hands = four persons / 8 actual hands) across the lead end adding several more along the sides to aid with support and movement. They'd normally mask our prosc' in to 50' and each
roll would extend past site lines into both wings. Making each rolled length, as a pure guess, maybe 60' long. Their prop man always made certain his best and longest strip went
downstage while shorter strips, or any with end damage, would run across further US where legs were dressed a little further on
stage. I remember the first season they arrived with their then brand new flooring and custom manufactured carts they'd designed and fabricated in their own shops. They were proud as punch, protective as he__, handled them with reverence and treated them like gold. By the time we were near the end of any one
roll, a whole lot of "hands" were straining really hard to drag the lead end into the opposite
wing and then the entire strip needed to be muscled into its correct position neatly parallel to cross-stage. A cart would be rolled one width US and the process repeated.
That was some heavy flooring and those were some DARNED HEAVY carts.
Sorry! With apologies for another of my boring TLDR posts.
Thanks, and no thanks, for the memories
@Van.
Toodleoo!
Ron