# Steam crane

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Railway steam crane, with [vertical cross-tube boiler](/source/Vertical_cross-tube_boiler), at [Summerlee Heritage Park](/source/Summerlee_Heritage_Park)

[Fairbairn steam crane](/source/Fairbairn_steam_crane) in Bristol

Derelict [Smith](/source/Thomas_Smith_%26_Sons) ([Rodley](/source/Rodley%2C_West_Yorkshire)) crane, on the [Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal](/source/Manchester%2C_Bolton_and_Bury_Canal)

A **steam crane** is a [crane](/source/Crane_(machine)) powered by a [steam engine](/source/Steam_engine). It may be fixed or mobile and, if mobile, it may run on [rail tracks](/source/Rail_tracks), [caterpillar tracks](/source/Caterpillar_track), road wheels, or be mounted on a barge.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] It usually has a [vertical boiler](/source/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 railways](/source/Heritage_railway) in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Manufacturers

- [Black Hawthorn](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Hawthorn_(Gateshead)&action=edit&redlink=1) of Gateshead (unrestored example at [Beamish Museum](/source/Beamish_Museum)[1]

- [Joseph Booth & Bros](/source/Joseph_Booth_%26_Bros) of Leeds

- [Coles Cranes](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coles_Cranes&action=edit&redlink=1) of Derby (restored example at [Beamish Museum](/source/Beamish_Museum))

- [Cowans, Sheldon & Company](/source/Cowans%2C_Sheldon_%26_Company) of Carlisle (rail cranes)

- [Craven Brothers](/source/Craven_Brothers)

- [William Fairbairn & Sons](/source/William_Fairbairn_%26_Sons) of Manchester

- [Ransomes & Rapier](/source/Ransomes_%26_Rapier) of Ipswich

- [Ruston Proctor](/source/Ruston_%26_Hornsby) of Lincoln

- [Stothert & Pitt](/source/Stothert_%26_Pitt) of Bath

- [Thomas Smith & Sons](/source/Thomas_Smith_%26_Sons) (Rodley) Ltd. of Leeds

## See also

Steam powered [Overhead crane](/source/Overhead_crane) from 1875

- [Crane](/source/Crane_(machine))

- [Crane (railroad)](/source/Crane_(railroad))

- [Crane tank](/source/Crane_tank)

- [Fairbairn steam crane](/source/Fairbairn_steam_crane)

- [Steam engine](/source/Steam_engine)

- [Steam shovel](/source/Steam_shovel)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Beamish collections](http://www.beamishcollections.com/collections/display.asp?ItemID=1498&mainsearchpage=2) archive search

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [steam cranes](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Steam_cranes).

- [Steam cranes inc. Ransomes & Rapier](https://preservation.watercressline.co.uk/stock/category/cranes)

- [Cowans & Sheldon steam crane](https://web.archive.org/web/20070626195029/http://www.embsayboltonabbeyrailway.org.uk/8742.html)

- [Nine Elms steam crane](http://www.semgonline.com/misc/9elmscrane.html)

- [Ransomes & Rapier wartime-ordered 45-ton Steam Breakdown Cranes](https://www.bloodandcustard.net/CraneRR.html)

- [Cowans Sheldon 15-ton Steam Cranes](https://www.bloodandcustard.net/CowansSheldon15T.html)

- [Model steam crane](http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10306848)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Steam crane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_crane) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_crane?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.