Bucyrus steam crane

This forum is dedicated to the Live Steam Hobbyist Community.

Moderators: cbrew, Harold_V

User avatar
NP317
Posts: 4584
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: Bucyrus steam crane

Post by NP317 »

From the Northwest railway Museum website collection information
www.trainmuseum.org

"Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway #X-5 Industrial Works 1908 75 Ton Wrecking Crane. Gift 1972 of Purdy Co.
Built in 1908 by Industrial Works of Bay City, Michigan, the X-5 is a small wrecking crane designed to lift up to 75 tons. Wrecking cranes were used to clean up after train wrecks, hence the name. The crane would actually lift the locomotive up and place it back onto the track. It was powered by a two-cylinder steam engine and used two lifting cables. The steam was provided by an oil fired vertical boiler and the crane was capable of swinging 360 degrees (but would have to be stabilized in order to work within this arc). A train would need to move the X-5 to the site of a wreck, since the crane was not self-propelled. It was retired once larger cranes became available with the creation of Burlington Northern."

It is located in Snoqualmie, Washington, USA.
Consider it a 3/4-sized version of the Nevada Northern wrecking crane "A", also built at the same Shops in Bay City, MI.
~RN
Post Reply