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2 hours ago, Corbs said:

I think he styled it after the SS Minros but I have been unable to source a pic.

Thanks Corbs. If you get any more details or photos of the model I'd certainly find them interesting.

 

The Preston Digital Archive on Flickr  turns out to be an absolute goldmine for interesting ships and cranes. 

There are ships like the 180grt  SS Bessie, a little bigger than a Clyde Puffer at 29M (94 feet)  not totally different in layout but somewhat more seagoing ship in appearance.   Or the SS Helen Craig, built in Belfast in 1891 but operating a regular service twice a week between Preston and Belfast until 1959. She was a rather larger three island ship but the SS Collin 1915- 1949 (name changed then so she may well have continued much later) was an engines aft long quarter deck ship. 

I still can't quite figure out, with the older portal cranes at Preston,  whether the jibs really were fixed or the whole lot hinged to give some luffing.  I think there were similiar cranes in Hull so they may have been somebody's standard design for a travelling portal crane. 

 

 

 

 

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I agree, it is nice. This is the only other pic he's posted of it.

 

1342496573_Screenshot2019-08-14at08_10_30.png.50679116661406cc7dbde948b8790012.png

 

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So about 4 years ago I built this ship for my original harbour layout. Sadly it got smashed up during my move to Bristol. I have toyed with the idea of having it incorporated in my current layout as it’s size and position is a bit intrusive on the rest of the layout, but I do like it and today fixed the damaged areas. Because the last layout was so short I had removed the ships stern to allow it to fit on the layout. Luckily I kept the removed part and then reattached it shortly after deciding to extend the layout. It’s built using the hull of a 1/142 Revell Trawler kit, and heavily modified to a design produced by Harvey’s & Sons ironfoundry in 1/76 scale. These cargo vessels ran Copper and Tin ore to the furnaces in South Wales and returned with engine coal for the mines. It’s similar to ‘SS Minros’ and ‘SS Carnsew’ and were owned by the West Cornwall steamship company. Which of these two names I’ll choose for this old ship, I don’t know, but as my Gran lives in Carnsew in Hayle, Cornwall I’m leaning towards that name. 

 

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After seeing Pat's excellent model I feel rather ashamed to post this but it may show how easily a much smaller scale kit can be adapted.

IMG_1698.JPG.b43dd0825f8e6b41050dbea842ad679b.JPG

 

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This ship was for a planned H0 project that was overtaken by my current layout. I never finished it and it ended up as a window sill ornament losing details like the lifeboat davits, wheelhouse mast and screw over the years. .  

It's based on the Shell Welder kit originally a Frog model of a  569 grt ship launched in 1954 but mine came from the Soviet Novo brand who'd acquired the moulds which even then were a bit tired.

71344023_shellwelderNovobox.jpg.cff755b5b27de73659e3c56adb0b49b5.jpg

 

This is 1:130 scale model but I needed it to be closer to 1:87

The hull is 400x72 mm which in 4mm scale would give a size of 100ft x 18ft - perhaps a bit narrow for a small coaster that length where 20-25ft would be more typical but in 1:87 scale 115ft x  20 ft which isn't bad. The depth of the hull is rather shallow for a dry cargo ship of this size  but the hull is fairly flat bottomed so I was planning to slightly embed it in the "water" to conceal that.

To convert it from a tanker I cut the rear of the tank top back to leave some open deck space between the hatch coaming and the quarter deck and built the rest of the coaming and the hatch cover around the tank top to give the vessel a single hold.

I replaced the railings each side of the main deck with bulwarks and raised the height of both the quarterdeck house and the wheelhouse , overlaying the original vertical surfaces with plasticard with rather larger portholes and doorways. I used the original vertical beams supporting the bridge deck but, as these were now too short, replaced the handrails with bulwarks. The only things I bought for the conversion were metal handrail from  a ship modelling supplier and a larger lifeboat that would have replaced the existing two - which were too small in the larger scale- with a single davit at the stern. Everything else was done with parts from the kit and plasticard. To complete the model I would have needed some laddering for companionways  a much taller extension to the foremast together with booms for cargo handling  and probably a winch casting to replace the one in the kit which was arguably also too small.

 

I've toyed with refurbishing this model but it may be too far gone and some of the plasticard is now rather brittle. I suspect that any ship modelling expert would find a lot that's wrong in this conversion but I thought it conveyed the right impression at least.

I think the kit is still available though it's been through several hands since Novo  so the moulds are probably very tired. For anyone wanting to built it as a 1:130 scale model of the Shell Welder that would be a problem; for a conversion job it's probably more the basic shapes of things like the hull, decks and funnel that are important.  I did wonder about its possibilities as an earlier steamship but I think the quarter deck would need to be lengthened to give enough machinery space for a boiler and an engine. Looking at it again,  the engine room skylight probably also needs to be larger even for a motor vessel. 

 

The real Shell Welder was converted into a sand suction dredger for a Fareham dredging company in 1974 and renamed the Steel Welder which I'm sure I saw quite often when I worked in Southampton in the 1980s. The ship was broken up on the Medway in 1991.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Pacific231G
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Unable to sleep, I thought I'd look at some model boats :)Sort of tangential, but linking to the general theme of Accurate Docks, here are some listings which seem promising:

 

Langley Models, of course :) Their 'Freighter/Coaster' looks good, the 'Sailing Fishing Boat' looks woefully inaccurate. Beware also the 1:87 range from Artitec - lovely models, but very distinctively Dutch. 

 

Model Dockyard ship plans. Nothing 1:76 that I saw, but some great ideas to be had...and re-scaling is always an option :)

 

Deans Marine [sic] was a surprise find, with their wonderful Merchant Ships. Again, unless going for some heavy forced perspective the 1:96 scale of some of the nicest models will make them less useful, but it's well worth running through the catalogue. It's where my star find and close second of the evening were hiding. Their 'Compact Kits' contain some potential too :)

 

Billing Boats was the other kit manufacterer who might be worth checking out. I particularly liked these offerings in 1:721:75 and 1:90. Of course, if one wanted something to suit almost any European dock from 1933 to the present, then Danmark's your girl!

 

One for O guage modellers :)

Models by Design have a great range of well researched craft...sadly nothing at 1:76, but still great for ideas :)

 

Few of the above are ideal, but with a little modeler's license and a willingness to kitbash a bit there are some decent, interesting options out there :)

 

Cheers,

 

Schooner

Edited by Schooner
Link added to a 1:76 boxboat under 'close second', Models by Design link added
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On 28/08/2019 at 03:03, Schooner said:

Unable to sleep, I thought I'd look at some model boats :)Sort of tangential, but linking to the general theme of Accurate Docks, here are some listings which seem promising:

 

Langley Models, of course :) Their 'Freighter/Coaster' looks good, the 'Sailing Fishing Boat' looks woefully inaccurate. Beware also the 1:87 range from Artitec - lovely models, but very distinctively Dutch. 

 

Model Dockyard ship plans. Nothing 1:76 that I saw, but some great ideas to be had...and re-scaling is always an option :)

 

Deans Marine [sic] was a surprise find, with their wonderful Merchant Ships. Again, unless going for some heavy forced perspective the 1:96 scale of some of the nicest models will make them less useful, but it's well worth running through the catalogue. It's where my star find and close second of the evening were hiding. Their 'Compact Kits' contain some potential too :)

 

Billing Boats was the other kit manufacterer who might be worth checking out. I particularly liked these offerings in 1:721:75 and 1:90. Of course, if one wanted something to suit almost any European dock from 1933 to the present, then Danmark's your girl!

 

One for O guage modellers :)

Models by Design have a great range of well researched craft...sadly nothing at 1:76, but still great for ideas :)

 

Few of the above are ideal, but with a little modeler's license and a willingness to kitbash a bit there are some decent, interesting options out there :)

 

Cheers,

 

Schooner

Thanks Schooner

I've looked through these and they do demonstrate that the needs of railway modellers for suitable small vessels and that of model ship builders are very different. A ship modeller building a coaster probably wants one that's fairly typical of that class of ship and can choose the scale to get a model of appropriate size. 

ISTR that a lot of regulations on crewing and certification and quite probably higher fees and harbour dues for coasters kicked in at 500 tons so it was advantageous for owners to keep just below that tonnage. There was though little point in building ships for general cargo much smaller than that as they would carry less cargo but cost much the same to man. So a "typical" coaster would either be a 500 tonner or considerably larger and those seem to be the models available. However, for our limited spaces we really need something that looks like a "proper" ship (full bridge rather than just a wheelhouse, lifeboat(s) in davits, a decent amoint of superstructure etc)  but is rather smaller; not as small as the tiny Clyde Puffer or the slightly larger types of VIC  but perhaps in the 250-300 ton range with a length of 100-125ft  type.

 

For rather too long railway modellers have been offered the 68ft Clyde Puffer as "the" typical small coaster which, however charming,  it never was but nothing else has been widely available, Langley do now seem to be trying to address that need with the 148ft 1:76 scale steam coaster and the actually slightly smaller 1:87 scale "large coaster" which as you say is actually an Artitec kit. This is a typically Dutch design but one that was widely adopted by many other operators. 

If you want a real insight into these ships the BBC 40 minutes strand included a fantastic documentary "A Passage to Wisbech"  in 1986 about the MV Carrick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW0SxfRShI8

This was a 46m x 8.21 x 3.36; 475 gt ship originally built in the Netherlands. Renamed the Carrick in 1980 and registered in Guernsey.  Sadly, the ship was broken up two years after the programme was shown. That kind of coastal shipping of general cargo was killed off by the all conquering  HGV just as surely as most wagonload rail freight. 

 

Edited by Pacific231G
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I saw a lovely scratchbuilt model of a Stothert and Pitt dock crane as 'guest exhibit' on a small harbourside model at the local model exhibition in Bristol.  It was massive though!

 

My conclusion is that small portable loading cranes suit the railway modelling scene much better than the giants used to load bigger cargo vessels.

Correct me if I am wrong but I assume we'd have to scratch-build them?

 

PS Here's a nice photo of the smaller dockside cranes that used to be a feature at Aberdeen in the 1950s ..

 

portable-dock-cranes-01.jpg

Edited by brylonscamel
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.. I think this rather glorious illustration of a Stothert and Pitt harbour crane conveys something of the majesty of these pieces of kit. PS I'm sure I read that windows at the front of the cabins were kept open (even in bad weather) as it was the only way that the crane operators could see what was going on!

 

stothert-pitt-01.jpg

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Just to  add a bit to this topic, with apologies if I'm repeating anybody, there seem to be very few drawings of mid-twentieth century cranes available for modelers, but for those interested in the 1960's onward there are a couple of drawings in the public domain of the Stothert and Pitt DD2 type. For those unfamiliar with these, they were a radical new design of 1959 using tubular construction which were very different from the traditional lattice and girder type.  They were purchased in large numbers to equip London's Docklands and have since formed the backdrop to films and TV made there (the Venice boat chase in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" for example).  A few are preserved around the redeveloped quays with the largest concentration at the Victoria Dock, which is Grade 2 listed.  The DD2 design was ultimately in use at many major UK ports, and is instantly recognisable. The first drawing I came across was in the book "Stothert and Pitt: Cranemakers to the World" and is the basis for my own pair of models (see below).  The second drawing is of the installation of these cranes at Dundee Harbour - I purchased a digital copy from a Scottish archive, but now unhelpfully can't remember how I found it via Google or which archive it came from.

 

The second thing I'd like to mention is Southampton - another member noted the number of cranes there. Sadly, in the last ten years or so, the "traditional" cranes have all but disapeared, replaced by containerisation, ships with their own gear or large crawler cranes.  A single machine currently remains forlornly at the edge of what was the King George V Graving Dock between the Western docks and the container berths.  When they were being scrapped I found a solitary example in an out of the way location and decided to survey it in detail with camera and tape measure (for the lower bits only!) - alas when I arrived at the docks with a train a few days later it had been reduced to mangled heap on the quayside. It was both sad and strange to stand next to the huge "Stothert and Pitt" nameplates which had adorned the  jib counterweights that usually towered over our heads.

 

Thirdly, on the subject of ship model plans, whilst it is true there are many available from modelling firms (of various quality, size and usefulness), my go-to sources for these are any of the books by Charles Waine.  Among his titles are "Steam Coasters", "Steam Colliers", "Steam Tugs" and the latest "British Motor Coasters" (from Lightmoor Press).  All of these are absolutely jam packed with plans of small ships, not only that but they are a good read as well, and I would recommend them unreservedly.  If you want to model a British Port of yesteryear these are the bibles of classic coastal shipping in my humble opinion.

 

Lastly - here are a few photos; firstly an old advert showing a DD2 with an earlier Stothert and Pitt Crane at the Bath works of the builders, next "traditional" cranes at Southampton East Docks in 2005, then preserved DD2's in London and lastly my models in 2mm scale.  Once these have progressed a little further I might write them up if it is thought of interest.  Let me know...

advert bath.JPG

East docks 2005.JPG

1.JPG

 

 

IMG_1834_-_Copy.JPG

IMG_1904.JPG

Edited by D River
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'evening all.

 

This was mentioned previously in the thread, Bob Edwardes' scratchbuilt model of Crane 30 from Bristol Docks, a Stothert and Pitt level-luffing design. It was posed on John's EM Scale model of M Shed a while ago.

 

Really shows the scale of the jib! Especially as when you stand under the real crane, it's the portals that appear large, whilst the jib is so far away.

IMG_5024.JPG.868220985869c7c735a8c4a0756d9e8e.JPG

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IMG_5028.JPG.17befd49df6ca130c5a07198be10d743.JPG

 

 

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On 07/08/2019 at 10:24, Corbs said:

In that last picture, has one of the derricks been braced to something on the land (rope top right of photo)?

 

Quite likely. As the basin harbour at Pentewan can be open to the sea, anything alongside the quay there would move on the tide. More significantly, any surge or strong waves washing up the basin could cause a ship to roll. Especially when the wind is in the east. In which case loose cargo like coal can shift as well. Not a problem if it shifts to the port side, more of a problem if it shifts to starboard.

 

Nowadays, more likely to be seen on a sailing yacht that has tied-up alongside for antifouling work at low tide, while resting on its keel. With a line from the masthead, so the yacht doesn't fall over it it rolls to starboard!

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On 12/10/2019 at 19:42, Corbs said:

'evening all.

 

This was mentioned previously in the thread, Bob Edwardes' scratchbuilt model of Crane 30 from Bristol Docks, a Stothert and Pitt level-luffing design. It was posed on John's EM Scale model of M Shed a while ago.

 

Really shows the scale of the jib! Especially as when you stand under the real crane, it's the portals that appear large, whilst the jib is so far away.

IMG_5024.JPG.868220985869c7c735a8c4a0756d9e8e.JPG

IMG_5025.JPG.0e69acde6494e08480b3925083c2e9f2.JPG

IMG_5026.JPG.b452c7abe7c0b3b725559b200022205e.JPG

IMG_5027.JPG.762502b4686c4f1c25aaf0ef78f76164.JPG

IMG_5028.JPG.17befd49df6ca130c5a07198be10d743.JPG

 

 

Hi Corbs,

That's a fantastic looking model of Bob's

Regards.

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21 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said:

 

Quite likely. As the basin harbour at Pentewan can be open to the sea, anything alongside the quay there would move on the tide. More significantly, any surge or strong waves washing up the basin could cause a ship to roll. Especially when the wind is in the east. In which case loose cargo like coal can shift as well. Not a problem if it shifts to the port side, more of a problem if it shifts to starboard.

 

Nowadays, more likely to be seen on a sailing yacht that has tied-up alongside for antifouling work at low tide, while resting on its keel. With a line from the masthead, so the yacht doesn't fall over it it rolls to starboard!

In some of the Bristol Channel ports, which have a very large tidal range, some berths outside the enclosed docks had what was known as a 'grid-iron'. This was a large structure of wood and metal, which sat on the mud, and provided a level surface for ships to sit on when the tide went out.

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11 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

In some of the Bristol Channel ports, which have a very large tidal range, some berths outside the enclosed docks had what was known as a 'grid-iron'. This was a large structure of wood and metal, which sat on the mud, and provided a level surface for ships to sit on when the tide went out.

By pure coincidence, I have just bought the Oakwood Press book by S.Jordan 'Ferry Services of the LB&SCR'. There are two photos of ships resting on the Newhaven Harbour gridiron. In this case the gridiron was installed to allow minor repairs to be done locally, with out the need for a dry dock. The railway company had its own marine engineering workshop there, to service its fleet of cross channel ferries, with a massive set of sheer-legs to lift ships' boilers out for maintenance.  The workshop was converted in 2014/5 into a University Technical College for 14 - 18 year-olds studying science, maths and engineering. Unfortunately it hasn't attracted enough students and has been wound down. There has been talk of converting it into a FE college for the same range of subjects.

You can see my photos of the work to convert the workshops at http://www.ipernity.com/doc/philsutters/album/723445 . They include photos of the original railway buildings demolished or converted.

Edited by phil_sutters
To add link to photos of the workshop conversion
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On 13/10/2019 at 00:42, Corbs said:

Bob Edwardes' scratchbuilt model of Crane 30 from Bristol Docks, a Stothert and Pitt level-luffing design. It was posed on John's EM Scale model of M Shed a while ago ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saw that on the M-Shed model at Thornbury - it was a very impressive bit of model making.

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On 13/10/2019 at 00:42, Corbs said:

'evening all.

 

This was mentioned previously in the thread, Bob Edwardes' scratchbuilt model of Crane 30 from Bristol Docks, a Stothert and Pitt level-luffing design. It was posed on John's EM Scale model of M Shed a while ago.

 

Really shows the scale of the jib! Especially as when you stand under the real crane, it's the portals that appear large, whilst the jib is so far away.

IMG_5024.JPG.868220985869c7c735a8c4a0756d9e8e.JPG

IMG_5025.JPG.0e69acde6494e08480b3925083c2e9f2.JPG

IMG_5026.JPG.b452c7abe7c0b3b725559b200022205e.JPG

IMG_5027.JPG.762502b4686c4f1c25aaf0ef78f76164.JPG

IMG_5028.JPG.17befd49df6ca130c5a07198be10d743.JPG

 

 

That's a lovely model

I thnink the preserved Stothert & Pitt cranes outside Bristol's M shed were fairly large examples. They would have been typical for ports handling deep sea cargo ships and there are a good row of more modern and I think even larger examples along Southampton's Western Docks (berths 101-108) However, at ports handling smaller vessels they could be rather smaller. Those at Weymouth were a pretty good example of this. I've not been able to find out how large the smallest level luffing cranes made by S&P were but that would be useful to know.

Edited by Pacific231G
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Sadly the Southampton Docks Cranes have all gone: 

 

 just one of the “traditional” cranes remains on the Western edge of the King George 5th Dry Dock - better news is that this weekend (19th/20th October) M shed in Bristol has a crane working and available for tours and viewing.

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42 minutes ago, D River said:

Sadly the Southampton Docks Cranes have all gone: 

 

 just one of the “traditional” cranes remains on the Western edge of the King George 5th Dry Dock - better news is that this weekend (19th/20th October) M shed in Bristol has a crane working and available for tours and viewing.

That's sad. Do you know when? The video was uploaded to YouTube in 2008 but I took this picture in September 2015 after taking some friends to start their cruise on the Azure and finding the Waverley on the next berth

Azure_&_Waverley_Sept_2015_014.jpg.5001fe7bb83d0353459bef646da9a80e.jpg

 

I wasn't focussing on the cranes but there were four or five of them  ranged along Western Docks' long quay.

 

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Hi - the bulk went in 2008 and, as shown in the video, there was a large pile of bits, the rest *I think* went late 2015/early 2016. There are now only crawler cranes on the quay, with none in the East Docks or on Chapel Wharf either - strange how quickly something you regard as ever-present can disappear.

 

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On ‎27‎/‎09‎/‎2019 at 11:54, D River said:

Just to  add a bit to this topic, with apologies if I'm repeating anybody, there seem to be very few drawings of mid-twentieth century cranes available for modelers, but for those interested in the 1960's onward there are a couple of drawings in the public domain of the Stothert and Pitt DD2 type. For those unfamiliar with these, they were a radical new design of 1959 using tubular construction which were very different from the traditional lattice and girder type.  They were purchased in large numbers to equip London's Docklands and have since formed the backdrop to films and TV made there (the Venice boat chase in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" for example).  A few are preserved around the redeveloped quays with the largest concentration at the Victoria Dock, which is Grade 2 listed.  The DD2 design was ultimately in use at many major UK ports, and is instantly recognisable. The first drawing I came across was in the book "Stothert and Pitt: Cranemakers to the World" and is the basis for my own pair of models (see below).  The second drawing is of the installation of these cranes at Dundee Harbour - I purchased a digital copy from a Scottish archive, but now unhelpfully can't remember how I found it via Google or which archive it came from.

 

The second thing I'd like to mention is Southampton - another member noted the number of cranes there. Sadly, in the last ten years or so, the "traditional" cranes have all but disapeared, replaced by containerisation, ships with their own gear or large crawler cranes.  A single machine currently remains forlornly at the edge of what was the King George V Graving Dock between the Western docks and the container berths.  When they were being scrapped I found a solitary example in an out of the way location and decided to survey it in detail with camera and tape measure (for the lower bits only!) - alas when I arrived at the docks with a train a few days later it had been reduced to mangled heap on the quayside. It was both sad and strange to stand next to the huge "Stothert and Pitt" nameplates which had adorned the  jib counterweights that usually towered over our heads.

 

Thirdly, on the subject of ship model plans, whilst it is true there are many available from modelling firms (of various quality, size and usefulness), my go-to sources for these are any of the books by Charles Waine.  Among his titles are "Steam Coasters", "Steam Colliers", "Steam Tugs" and the latest "British Motor Coasters" (from Lightmoor Press).  All of these are absolutely jam packed with plans of small ships, not only that but they are a good read as well, and I would recommend them unreservedly.  If you want to model a British Port of yesteryear these are the bibles of classic coastal shipping in my humble opinion.

 

Lastly - here are a few photos; firstly an old advert showing a DD2 with an earlier Stothert and Pitt Crane at the Bath works of the builders, next "traditional" cranes at Southampton East Docks in 2005, then preserved DD2's in London and lastly my models in 2mm scale.  Once these have progressed a little further I might write them up if it is thought of interest.  Let me know...

advert bath.JPG

East docks 2005.JPG

1.JPG

 

 

IMG_1834_-_Copy.JPG

IMG_1904.JPG

 

I encountered those London cranes on a research trip to the Docklands. While I was photographing them, a local came up to me and informed me that they were fake, and only the older ones were real. I didn't have the heart to correct him, or to ask him why anyone would go to the trouble of constructing an enormous set of fake cranes...

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4 hours ago, Corbs said:

The jib looks shorter on that one than the M Shed cranes

Thanks Phil. I'd forgotten about that one too but I've  just found my photos of crane no 4412  and the other much taller one on the other side of the same dock and they're my clearest images of S&P LL cranes.

4412 does have a fairly short jib and the whole crane is quite squat.

 

Chatham040096.JPG.69645380232883b1e9da5f912eaabfbc.JPG

Chatham040095.JPG.a0b7901d4269eb6687024a89e83d116e.JPG

Chatham040102.JPG.6f5f7b6cc73a5690b1bb9bb881a1dfc0.JPG

 

Chatham040100.JPG.f1c63a56469c968b66a026a77d36d8c1.JPG

 

 Despite its short stature that the machine house is of the larger variety but this crane could handle loads of 10 tons (though not over its whole range) which is more than the typical 3-5 ton level luffing cranes used for general cargo handling. The jib length would relate to the luffing needed to reach the far side of the hold or whatever in the ship is being lifted, in a dry dock probably machinery and other parts of the ship rather than stores and in this case the dry dock is realtively narrow. I think not having to reach so far was also the reason why the cranes in ferry ports were generally smaller than those in Docks like Southampton or London.

However, the other crane in that part of Chatham dockyard, no 640 (?) which I think is SWL 9 tons is much taller.

 

Chatham040103.JPG.ddd2e39838749691a62d49818215c72e.JPGChatham040104.JPG.59fd48546ef240a696d9bcef0526425e.JPGChatham040105.JPG.2c43aa260fdaaad98214cae7980c9f6d.JPGChatham040107.JPG.473f45b8b3ee44bd90fcbe79af92208a.JPG

I think in this case the height was to handle masts, radar installations and so forth so the base is very tall but so is the jib itself. I also have no idea what the intermediate level "garden shed" on this crane was for, possibly just to store parts.

What is alo interesting about this and other images is how little standardisation there seems to have been in Stothert and Pitt's designs, The shape of the machine house/cab in particular do seem to have varied a great deal.

 

 

Edited by Pacific231G
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