Popular Post Gibbo675 Posted December 12, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted December 12, 2019 Rail Mounted Cranes Hi Folks, What with all the interest in the forthcoming Bachmann model of the Ransome Rapier crane I thought it about time that there was perhaps a thread dedicated to rail mounted cranes of all types, not just the large breakdown cranes. I have a fair interest in cranes and so far have built or converted various models utilising RTR, kits and also scratch built as basis for the models. It would be interesting to see what others have done with their crane models and also the attendant vehicles such as jib runners, match trucks and tool and riding vans that accompany cranes. Perhaps information about specific prototypes, methods of working histories, manufactures and even incidents involving cranes could be posted Do add posts of your own cranes should you wish, describing your models and how you have added tool vans, converted it from another type or scratch built it. Better still give a potted history of your crane's operational service. Below are a series of photographs of various cranes that I have built or are in the course of building. Cowans Sheldon 10 ton hand crane with match truck, modified Hornby. Coles 10 ton diesel electric crane, scratch built. Booth Rodley 15 ton diesel hydraulic crane with jib runner, modified Dapol kit and Hornby GWR Macaw. Cowans Sheldon LMS 30 ton steam crane, scratch built with Hornby parts. Cowans Sheldon BR Std 30 ton, scratch built with Hornby parts. Cowans Sheldon BR Std 75 ton steam crane, modified Hornby with scratch built jib and jib runner. Gibbo. 12 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmrspaul Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Plenty of crane photos here https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/?q=cranes Although some will be familiar from Tatlow, Peter (2012) Railway Breakdown Cranes: Volume 1 The Story of Steam Breakdown Cranes on the Railways of Britain. Publ. Noodle Books by Kevin Robertson ISBN 13: 9781906419691. 256 pages. Tatlow, Peter (2013) Railway Breakdown Cranes: Volume 2 The Story of Breakdown Cranes on the Railways of Britain. Publ. Noodle Books by Kevin Robertson ISBN 13: 978190641997-4. 296 pages. Tatlow, Peter (2018) Railway Cranes: Volume 3. Rail-mounted travelling Cranes of Britain. Publ. Crecy Publishing Ltd Manchester ISBN 978086093684-8. 224 pages. Paul 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo675 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 19 hours ago, hmrspaul said: Plenty of crane photos here https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/?q=cranes Although some will be familiar from Tatlow, Peter (2012) Railway Breakdown Cranes: Volume 1 The Story of Steam Breakdown Cranes on the Railways of Britain. Publ. Noodle Books by Kevin Robertson ISBN 13: 9781906419691. 256 pages. Tatlow, Peter (2013) Railway Breakdown Cranes: Volume 2 The Story of Breakdown Cranes on the Railways of Britain. Publ. Noodle Books by Kevin Robertson ISBN 13: 978190641997-4. 296 pages. Tatlow, Peter (2018) Railway Cranes: Volume 3. Rail-mounted travelling Cranes of Britain. Publ. Crecy Publishing Ltd Manchester ISBN 978086093684-8. 224 pages. Paul Hi Paul, Excellent albums there with the sort of bonus of seeing some that I had not previously found. I say sort of bonus because I found some shots of the Coles 10 ton bogie mounted crane in the not previously found category. It seems that with my part built model not only is the cab wrong so is the jib, nothing a bit of alteration can't put right ! Gibbo. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo675 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 Hi Folks, After looking at the albums that Paul has kindly posted links to above I have discovered that there are detail inaccuracies to my model of the 10 ton Coles crane. Most obvious is the shape of the cab for which I used a photograph of the crane at the NYMR as reference for making up the bits that I didn't have photographs of. The photographs I have since discovered shew a different profile to the cab roof which has more of a slope to the outer edge of it along with an angled corner of the cab front window. The jib is also incorrect as the cross bracing top and under side of the jib should be angled at an approximate 60*, this is because I used a photograph taken from the side which gave a parallax error for I fitted the cross bracing at 90* and 45* alternately. Both will require remedial attention but nothing too drastic, fortunately I haven't painted any of it yet. The album shewing the Coles 10 ton crane is listed as DR 813-- CCE HD DE, Cranes, Runners, Match. I shall post some before and after photographs to shew progress with the Coles crane. Gibbo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John Isherwood Posted December 13, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2019 Is that a scratchbuilt, scale length jib? Fairly early on, the operaters' cabs had the front of the roof cut off and converted into a sloping window - presumably to give visibility of the end of the longer-than-standard jib. Regards, John Isherwood. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo675 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 21 minutes ago, cctransuk said: Is that a scratchbuilt, scale length jib? Fairly early on, the operaters' cabs had the front of the roof cut off and converted into a sloping window - presumably to give visibility of the end of the longer-than-standard jib. Regards, John Isherwood. Hi John, The jib is the one supplied with the kit although it has been modified in that it has had a new swan neck fitted which is a slight longer and of a different angle, also the jib foot has been altered with the box section as may be seen. There are details of the modifications made on a Smith-Rodley thread somewhere, I shall have to re-post here sometime. There are a set of your transfers ready to go for that crane, and also the C&S hand crane, which have both been varnished ready but it is a little tack yet so the job will have to wait. Gibbo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John Isherwood Posted December 13, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Gibbo675 said: Hi John, The jib is the one supplied with the kit although it has been modified in that it has had a new swan neck fitted which is a slight longer and of a different angle, also the jib foot has been altered with the box section as may be seen. There are details of the modifications made on a Smith-Rodley thread somewhere, I shall have to re-post here sometime. There are a set of your transfers ready to go for that crane, and also the C&S hand crane, which have both been varnished ready but it is a little tack yet so the job will have to wait. Gibbo. Gibbo, Years back, when I bought my Unimat lathe, I decided to learn how to use it by converting the Dapol Booth crane to scale. To that end, I arranged to visit a derelict BR crane at Reading that had latterly been used as a yard shunter without its jib. I measured and photographed the crane carriage, and acquired copies of the original BR drawing for these cranes. The carriage is almost completed, but I've done no work on it for years. It has a pair of hidden, equalised bogies; is scratchbuilt from brass; and has working, milled steel stabilising beams, with working screw jacks on their ends. That was a very steep learning curve with the Unimat ! I really must finish the carriage sometime soon, and then get on and build a replacement, full length jib. Regards, John Isherwood. PS. The carriage axleboxes / springs were supplied by BR, and were from Midland Railway tenders. Fortunately, Slaters suppied / still supply the correct type as glass-filled nylon mouldings. Edited December 13, 2019 by cctransuk 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo675 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 9 minutes ago, cctransuk said: Gibbo, Years back, when I bought my Unimat lathe, I decided to learn how to use it by converting the Dapol Booth crane to scale. To that end, I arranged to visit a derelict BR crane at Reading that had latterly been used as a yard shunter without its jib. I measured and photographed the crane carriage. and acquired copies of the original BR drawing for these cranes. The carriage is almost completed, but I've done no work on it for years. It has a pair of hidden, equalised bogies; is scratchbuilt from brass; and has working, milled steel stabilising beams, with working screw jacks on their ends. That was a very steep learning curve with the Unimat ! I really must finish the carriage sometime soon, and then get on an build a replacement, full length jib. Regards, John Isherwood. Hi John, I have seen photographs of your brass chassis on one of the threads here and it is a super piece of work. Mention of working screw jacks in 4mm is quite some trick to pull off. As the jib goes the lattice section is of the correct length but there should only be seventeen angles along each side but the model has twenty. I was happy to live with that discrepancy on the basis that if it looks right it is right, and with the alterations to the swan neck and jib foot it is good enough for me. Building lattice jibs is much more daunting than it seems, it is mainly preparation and patience. They are also a lot stronger than they look, just like the real ones are, even when unlike the real ones they are made from Plastruct angle and micro-strip. I first draw out the lattice in pencil on paper and then cut the longitudinal pieces overly long securing each end to suit using scraps of plasticard. I then simply cut and lay on the angles of micro-strip in place on a positioned drop of glue in accordance with my drawing which is laid directly underneath. Once one side is complete I then use that to make the other side with. When both sides are complete and cured I fix the sides together using the tail ends of the longitudinal pieces and scrap plasticard and then repeat the process. Gibbo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micklner Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 A couple of photos of a D&S Cowans Sheldon Crane and ex NER Riding Tool Vans. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo675 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 11 minutes ago, micklner said: A couple of photos of a D&S Cowans Sheldon Crane and ex NER Riding Tool Vans. Hi There, Great stuff, I have seen the D&S kit before and it looks great. I do especially like the NER riding vans as they complete the look of the crane, were they scratch built or converted from something else? Gibbo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
B15nac Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 Not finished yet but here is my smith an son's 6 ton steam crane for ash removal 6 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo675 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 12 minutes ago, B15nac said: Not finished yet but here is my smith an son's 6 ton steam crane for ash removal Hi There, Just the kind of crane that is very often overlooked, thanks for posting. Gibbo. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon A Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 38 minutes ago, B15nac said: Not finished yet but here is my smith an son's 6 ton steam crane for ash removal Are the kits available? Gordon A Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micklner Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 1 hour ago, Gibbo675 said: Hi There, Great stuff, I have seen the D&S kit before and it looks great. I do especially like the NER riding vans as they complete the look of the crane, were they scratch built or converted from something else? Gibbo. Crane and vans are all D&S, they come up on ebay for silly money !!. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
B15nac Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 Hi Yes the chassis is a separate item from a cambrian C5 crane kit but the crane Body, jib an clamshell bucket is available from me. I Can Supply the chassis Or even build it complete for a extra cost Kind regards Neil 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo675 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 Just now, B15nac said: Hi Yes the chassis is a separate item from a cambrian C5 crane kit but the crane Body, jib an clamshell bucket is available from me. I Can Supply the chassis Or even build it complete for a extra cost Kind regards Neil Hi Neil, Thanks for the above posting, it is just the kind of information that is needed for anyone wishing to model cranes of any type. Gibbo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
B15nac Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 That's OK it's a 3d printed item my Brother in law created with some help from me. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo675 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 Hi Folks, I've been busy looking at Paul Bartlett's photographs of Coles cranes and I have reworked the cab of the Coles 10 ton DE. The front window has had the window deepened slightly along with a new cab side to allow the angled side of the cab and a new cab roof. The superstructure is now painted Engineers Olive so that I may fit the glazing, the cab roof section has not yet been fixed although it fits up as it should. I have yet to alter the jib, also the bogies will in time receive attention as they are leftovers from the Dapol Booth Rodley kit and as such they are the wrong pattern. Gibbo. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhall Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 This is just my Cowans Sheldon collection. Firground 6.5 and 10T handcranes, (I thought both were carrying my conversion kits but apparently not. Next pair 2x D&S 10T steam cranes (I have a third waiting to build, along with a GWR match truck from brassmasters) Next no fewer than 4 Hornby Dublo 45/50t cranes with my detailing kit, a couple of which have now been sold, but replaced by ones with releving bogies. Then a standard Triang Hornby 75T crane, and then at the back the same thing but re-jib'ed and converted to diesel with my resin castings. Not pictured, a couple of Noniminstre Coles shunting cranes, a Plaser GPC and TJC both from my own kits, a Gordon Ashton Ransoms Rapier 45t or a much butchered kibri Gottwald impersonating a Kirow crane. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo675 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 3 minutes ago, jonhall said: This is just my Cowans Sheldon collection. Firground 6.5 and 10T handcranes, (I thought both were carrying my conversion kits but apparently not. Next pair 2x D&S 10T steam cranes (I have a third waiting to build, along with a GWR match truck from brassmasters) Next no fewer than 4 Hornby Dublo 45/50t cranes with my detailing kit, a couple of which have now been sold, but replaced by ones with releving bogies. Then a standard Triang Hornby 75T crane, and then at the back the same thing but re-jib'ed and converted to diesel with my resin castings. Not pictured, a couple of Noniminstre Coles shunting cranes, a Plaser GPC and TJC both from my own kits, a Gordon Ashton Ransoms Rapier 45t or a much butchered kibri Gottwald impersonating a Kirow crane. Hi Jon, You've got it worse than me ! I have got one of the Hornby Dublo Cranes ready to be hacked about in the future once I have finished the current batch of cranes along with a fair number of DMU's and some AC electrics. I think I shall be building a new jib for it along with a jib runner along with other works that need to be attended to as I'm sure that you are aware of. Do post more, perhaps feature your conversions for their interest value. I should like to see progress of the D&S 10 ton cranes. Gibbo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pre Grouping fan Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 This maybe a "rule 1, it's your railway etc" answer but would the new Hattons 4 and 6 wheel coaches in the Red BR livery with Gorton markings be suitable for the Gorton/BR early livery Bachmann crane? I'm pretty sure I saw a picture of the prototype in a train somewhere but typically can't find it now. Cheers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TangoOscarMike Posted December 14, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 14, 2019 Good morning everyone I see a selection of excellent crane models. Clearly it's far easier to achieve realistic operations of a passenger train than realistic hands-off operations of a crane. Has anybody here managed to motorise the moving parts and have their crane actually lift something? I can see many obstacles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon A Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 One of the major continental manufacturers produced a fully working rail mounted HO crane. Unfortunately I cannot remember who. Gordon A Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 25 minutes ago, Gordon A said: One of the major continental manufacturers produced a fully working rail mounted HO crane. Unfortunately I cannot remember who. Gordon A Herpa? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poor Old Bruce Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 12 hours ago, Pre Grouping fan said: This maybe a "rule 1, it's your railway etc" answer but would the new Hattons 4 and 6 wheel coaches in the Red BR livery with Gorton markings be suitable for the Gorton/BR early livery Bachmann crane? I'm pretty sure I saw a picture of the prototype in a train somewhere but typically can't find it now. Cheers I wonder how accurate the Hatton's red livery would be to go with a breakdown crane, I think black would be more appropriate to match the crane. By the time stuff was being painted red, most BDTs would have gone over to bogie vehicles. I would be quite happy to be proved wrong though. I know there were two ex-Midland six-wheel coaches at Dundee shed in the early 1960s but they looked as if they hadn't gone far for some time, they were a rather shabby black by that time. In the 80s or 90s there was another ex-Midland six-wheeler in olive green still in use as a staff and tool van for an engineers crane. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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