A steam crane is a crane powered by a steam engine. It may be fixed or mobile and, if mobile, it may run on rail tracks, caterpillar tracks, road wheels, or be mounted on a barge.[citation needed] 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.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Steam_Cranes_-_geograph.org.uk_-_445452.jpg/220px-Steam_Cranes_-_geograph.org.uk_-_445452.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Fairbairn_steam_crane_side_view.jpg/220px-Fairbairn_steam_crane_side_view.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Mbb_canal_steam_crane_sion.jpg/220px-Mbb_canal_steam_crane_sion.jpg)
They were very common as railway breakdown cranes, and several have been preserved on heritage railways in the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
Manufacturers
- Black Hawthorn of Gateshead (unrestored example at Beamish Museum[1]
- 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 Proctor of Lincoln
- Stothert & Pitt of Bath
- Thomas Smith & Sons (Rodley) Ltd. of Leeds
See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/RvancoppSteamCrane1262010.jpg/220px-RvancoppSteamCrane1262010.jpg)
References
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to steam cranes.
- Steam cranes inc. Ransomes & Rapier
- Cowans & Sheldon steam crane
- Nine Elms steam crane
- Ransomes & Rapier wartime-ordered 45-ton Steam Breakdown Cranes
- Cowans Sheldon 15-ton Steam Cranes
- Model steam crane