Steam crane
Encyclopedia
Crane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
powered by a steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
. It may be fixed or mobile and, if mobile, it may run on rail tracks
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
, caterpillar track
Caterpillar track
Continuous tracks or caterpillar tracks are a system of vehicle propulsion in which modular metal plates linked into a continuous band are driven by two or more wheels...
s, road wheels, or be mounted on a barge. It usually has a vertical boiler
Vertical boiler
A vertical boiler is a type of fire-tube or water-tube boiler where the boiler barrel is oriented vertically instead of the more common horizontal orientation...
placed at the back so that the weight of the boiler counterbalances the weight of the jib and load.
They were very common as railway breakdown cranes and several have been preserved on heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
s in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Manufacturers
- Black Hawthorn – Gateshead (unrestored example at Beamish MuseumBeamish MuseumBeamish, The North of England Open Air Museum is an open-air museum located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, County Durham, England. The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural North East England at the climax of industrialisation in the early...
- Coles Cranes – of Derby (restored example at Beamish MuseumBeamish MuseumBeamish, The North of England Open Air Museum is an open-air museum located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, County Durham, England. The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural North East England at the climax of industrialisation in the early...
) - Cowans, Sheldon & Company – of Carlisle (rail cranes)
- William Fairbairn & SonsWilliam Fairbairn & SonsWilliam Fairbairn and Sons, was an engineering works in Manchester, England.-History:William Fairbairn opened an iron foundry in 1816 and was joined the following year by a Mr. Lillie, and the firm became known as Fairbairn and Lillie Engine Makers, producing iron steamboats.Their foundry and...
– of Manchester - Ruston Proctor – of Lincoln
- Stothert & PittStothert & PittStothert & Pitt were a British engineering company founded in 1785 in Bath, England. They were the builders of a variety of engineering products ranging from Dock cranes to construction plant and household cast iron items. They went out of business in 1989...
– of Bath - Thomas Smith & Sons (Rodley) Ltd – of Leeds
See also
- CraneCrane (machine)A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
- Crane (railroad)Crane (railroad)A railroad crane, is a type of crane used on a railroad for one of three primary uses: freight handling in goods yards, permanent way maintenance, and accident recovery work...
- Crane tankCrane tankA crane tank is a steam locomotive with a crane fitted to it. The crane may be fitted at the front, centre or rear of the locomotive and gives it a rather "top heavy" appearance...
- Steam shovelSteam shovelA steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. They played a major role in public works in the 19th and early 20th century, being key to the construction of railroads...
- Fairbairn steam craneFairbairn steam craneThe Fairbairn steam crane is a type of harbourside crane of an 'improved design', patented in 1850 by Sir William Fairbairn. There is one surviving example in Bristol Docks, England.-Innovative design:...