A steam crane is a crane powered by a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

. It may be fixed or mobile and, if mobile, it may run on

rail tracks A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

caterpillar track Continuous track is a system of vehicle propulsion used in tracked vehicles, running on a continuous band of treads or track plates driven by two or more wheels. The large surface area of the tracks distributes the weight of the vehicle b ...

s, road wheels, or be mounted on a barge. It usually has a

vertical boiler A vertical boiler is a type of fire-tube or water-tube boiler where the boiler barrel is oriented vertically instead of the more common horizontal orientation. Vertical boilers were used for a variety of steam-powered vehicles and other mobile ma ...

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 A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

s in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Manufacturers

* Black Hawthorn of Gateshead (unrestored example at

Beamish Museum Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it wa ...

Beamish collections
archive search *

Joseph Booth & Bros Joseph Booth & Bros was an English company notable for making cranes used in large construction projects. History Jeremiah Booth, the father of Joseph Booth, entered the crane making business with partners Jeremiah Balmforth and David Smith. They ...

of Leeds *

Coles Cranes Coles may refer to: Businesses *Coles Supermarkets, a supermarket chain in Australia *Coles Group, parent company of Coles Supermarkets, Coles Online, Coles Express, Coles Liquor and flybuys *Coles (bookstore), a bookstore chain in Canada, a divi ...

of Derby (restored example at

) *

Cowans, Sheldon & Company Clarke Chapman is a British engineering firm based in Gateshead, which was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded in 1864 in Gateshead by William Clarke (1831–1890). In 1865 Clarke took in a partner ...

of Carlisle (rail cranes) *

Craven Brothers Cravens Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Limited was a railway rolling stock builder in the Darnall district of Sheffield, England. Founded by brothers named Craven and known as Craven Brothers, later Cravens Limited, it remained a family busi ...

William Fairbairn & Sons William Fairbairn and Sons, was an engineering works in Manchester, England. History William Fairbairn opened an iron foundry in 1816 and was joined the following year by a Mr. Lillie, and the firm became known as Fairbairn and Lillie Engine Mak ...

of Manchester *

Ransomes & Rapier Ransomes & Rapier was a major British manufacturer of railway equipment and later cranes, from 1869 to 1987. Originally an offshoot of the major engineering company Ransome's it was based at Waterside Works in Ipswich, Suffolk. Ransome's split R ...

of Ipswich *

Ruston Proctor Ruston may refer to: Place names ;United States * Ruston, Louisiana * Ruston, Washington ;United Kingdom * East Ruston, Norfolk, England * Ruston, North Yorkshire, England * Ruston Parva, East Riding of Yorkshire, England Companies * Ruston ( ...

of Lincoln *

Stothert & Pitt Stothert & Pitt was a British engineering company founded in 1855 in Bath, England. It was the builder of various engineering products ranging from Dock cranes to construction plant and household cast iron items. It went out of business in 1989 ...

of Bath *

Thomas Smith & Sons Thomas Smith & Sons manufactured steam, diesel and electric powered cranes in their Old Foundry on a narrow strip of land between Town Street in Rodley near Leeds and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Early history The history of the firm goes back ...

(Rodley) Ltd. of Leeds

References

* See external links

External links

Steam cranes inc. Ransomes & Rapier

* ttps://www.bloodandcustard.net/CowansSheldon15T.html Cowans Sheldon 15-ton Steam Cranes
Model steam crane
Cranes (machines) Crane {{Mech-engineering-stub

Manufacturers

See also

References

External links