page_title: Crane (rail)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Crane (rail) / History
caption_attribution_description: Woodhead: a railway mishap. Just west of Woodhead Station, roughly SE. The bogie of a Class B1 4-6-0 that had derailed at the Down-to-Up line crossover is being replaced on the rails while the breakdown crane (from Gorton) lifts the front of the engine. The train was the 08.40 Sheffield - Manchester express; it and all other traffic on this busy route was held up for an hour or two. (At the time all traffic was using the Up (Eastbound) single bore of the Old Tunnel, anyway. (alternate view)
context_page_description: A railroad crane is a type of crane used on a railroad for one of three primary purposes: freight handling in goods yards, permanent way maintenance, and accident recovery work. Although the design differs according to the type of work, the basic configuration is similar in all cases: a rotating crane body is mounted on a sturdy chassis fitted with flanged wheels. The body supports the jib and provides all the lifting and operating mechanisms; on larger cranes, an operator's cabin is usually provided. The chassis is fitted with buffing and/or coupling gear to allow the crane to be moved by a locomotive, although many are also self-propelled to allow limited movement about a work site.
  For cranes with a jib that extends beyond the length of the chassis, an idler car is provided to protect the jib and to allow the crane to be coupled within a train. The idler car is usually a long, flat wagon that provides a means of securing the jib for transportation; storage areas for special equipment or supplies are usually fitted too. It was not uncommon for the idler car to be built on a withdrawn revenue-earning wagon.
context_section_description: In the early days of the railways, locomotives and rolling stock were small enough to be re-railed manually using jacks and tackle, but as they became bigger and heavier this method became inadequate.
  Enter into this the steam crane and cable winch. Appearing about 1890, the cranes (the proper rail terminology is “Derrick”) increased in size, commensurate with the rise of steel Pullman cars, so by 1910 steam cranes reached their peak of development (on the railroad). Many of these 1910-era cranes were so useful and powerful, that they remained in service until the 1980s. The combination of a quick-firing steam boiler, heavy steam winch, and cable hook could little be improved upon, and thus remained in service. Also, steam engines did not mind being parked for months, with a little care, and were ready to go to work when needed.
  In the 1980s, big, hydraulic controlled diesel cranes appeared. Also, these cranes had the ability to travel on the highway so as to better able to get to the scene of an accident. They are much more mobile, and are able to manoeuvre around an accident scene, better than a crane only limited to rail access. In the United States the advent of contractors to cleanup and re-rail a line to productive status came in around the late 1970s and early 1980s. The use of caterpillar tractor mounted sidebooms (pipelayers) enabled the contractors to mobilize around a site without having the need for crane mats and multiple lifting locations.
  In the 1990s a new generation of railway cranes was developed. While the conventional diesel hydraulic road cranes were adopted with some small trolleys to move on the rail track, the new generation had a professional high speed railway chassis for up to 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph). The superstructure is also diesel hydraulic with telescopic boom and counterweight and designed to the railway's specific needs. These cranes can travel with suspended loads and keep levelled even on an elevated track, due to the automatic cant compensation. It is possible to work on one outrigger only, work with boom in horizontal position under bridges or under the overhead wires. Capacities are as high as 200 tonnes. It makes this new generation useful for maintenance work and switch and crossing renewal, as well as recovery work.
caption: A derailed steam locomotive being lifted back onto the tracks by a rail mounted crane in 1951
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