Burro Crane

A Burro Crane is a small four-wheel mobile lifting crane with a very small lifting capacity, designed to lift railroad ties and railroad rails as part of track maintenance.
==History==
As early as 1907, the Cullen-Friestedt Company, Chicago, Illinois entered the track maintenance business with four-wheeled cranes designed to operate on rails. Starting with their Model 15 Burro Crane, the Cullen-Friestedt company's Burro Crane became the "Pack Animal of the Industry". Although there may have been other models during the past century, the Burro Crane progressed at least from Model 15 to Model 20, Model 30, Model 40 and Model 50.
As for the room in the back of a Burro it is very very cramped. You can't even get past the "A" frame. You just have to reach what you can, that's why they have doors on both sides, the front and the back. Burro 40s have around 12,000 lbs tractive effort in 1st gear. The higher the gear the lower the TE." "The boom drum is driven by a worm gear which has an automatic applying brake. There are 6 clutches "not counting the master Twin Disc clutch on the motor" that run off a common gear train.
They run both hoists, left and right swings and both travel directions. The crane machinery can be disconnected from the travel gears so that when you shift to high gear you don't blow up the magnet generator which was not uncommon though that even can be taken out of gear on its own. The transmission on the 40s is a Cotta 4 speed.
==Trivia==
*The Burro has a 2 cylinder Quincy air compressor belt driven off the Detroit diesel, which supplies air for the pneumatic control system, and air for the horn is taken off that supply.
*Although Cullen-Friestedt started business in 1907, the first Burro crane was built in 1922. It was what the company called a Model 10 and had a 2-1/2 ton capacity. The Model 10 was in production from 1922 to either 1927 or 1928.
*There is also a two speed transfer case between the travel clutches and travel gear and a high speed notch on the throttle.
Category:Built in 1922