Steam crane

{{Short description|none}} [[File:Steam Cranes - geograph.org.uk - 445452.jpg|thumb|Railway steam crane, with [[vertical cross-tube boiler]], at [[Summerlee Heritage Park]]]] [[Image:Fairbairn steam crane side view.jpg|thumb|right|[[Fairbairn steam crane]] in Bristol]] [[Image:Mbb canal steam crane sion.jpg|thumb|right|Derelict [[Thomas Smith & Sons|Smith]] ([[Rodley, West Yorkshire|Rodley]]) crane, on the [[Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal]]]]

A '''steam crane''' is a [[crane (machine)|crane]] powered by a [[steam engine]]. It may be fixed or mobile and, if mobile, it may run on [[rail tracks]], [[caterpillar track]]s, road wheels, or be mounted on a barge.{{cn|date=January 2024}} It usually has a [[vertical boiler]] 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]]s in the [[United Kingdom]].{{cn|date=January 2024}}

==Manufacturers== * [[Black Hawthorn (Gateshead)|Black Hawthorn]] of Gateshead (unrestored example at [[Beamish Museum]]<ref>[http://www.beamishcollections.com/collections/display.asp?ItemID=1498&mainsearchpage=2 Beamish collections] archive search</ref> * [[Joseph Booth & Bros]] of Leeds * [[Coles Cranes]] of Derby (restored example at [[Beamish Museum]]) * [[Cowans, Sheldon & Company]] of Carlisle (rail cranes) * [[Craven Brothers]] * [[William Fairbairn & Sons]] of Manchester * [[Ransomes & Rapier]] of Ipswich * [[Ruston & Hornsby|Ruston Proctor]] of Lincoln * [[Stothert & Pitt]] of Bath * [[Thomas Smith & Sons]] (Rodley) Ltd. of Leeds

==See also== [[File:RvancoppSteamCrane1262010.jpg|thumb|Steam powered [[Overhead crane]] from 1875]] {{div col|colwidth=22em}} * [[Crane (machine)|Crane]] * [[Crane (railroad)]] * [[Crane tank]] * [[Fairbairn steam crane]] * [[Steam engine]] * [[Steam shovel]] {{div col end}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons cat|Steam cranes|lcfirst=yes}} * [https://preservation.watercressline.co.uk/stock/category/cranes Steam cranes inc. Ransomes & Rapier] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070626195029/http://www.embsayboltonabbeyrailway.org.uk/8742.html Cowans & Sheldon steam crane] * [http://www.semgonline.com/misc/9elmscrane.html Nine Elms steam crane] * [https://www.bloodandcustard.net/CraneRR.html Ransomes & Rapier wartime-ordered 45-ton Steam Breakdown Cranes] * [https://www.bloodandcustard.net/CowansSheldon15T.html Cowans Sheldon 15-ton Steam Cranes] * [http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10306848 Model steam crane]

[[Category:Steam cranes| ]] [[Category:Cranes (machines)]] [[Category:Steam road vehicles|Crane]]