I'm looking for a dock side crane in HO for my harbor on my layout. I'm looking for one similar to the one featured in 'Railroading along the waterfront' from MRR's information station featuring Howard Lloyds excellent layout that was in MRR a few years back. Can anyone suggest a model or a supplier?
Thanks
Barry
I have no idea of what type of crane you are looking, however here is what I have
That crane was purchased from Zycon Model although I believe it is now out of production.]
A picture of the prototype crane can be seen here.
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.gottwald.com/gottwald/export/gottwaldsite/galleries/Product_Navi/GHMK_Brazil.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.gottwald.com/gottwald/site/gottwald/en/products/harbour-cranes/mobile-harbour-cranes.html&h=316&w=240&sz=64&tbnid=b4gxXZFssrR8DM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=68&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dgottwald%2Bcranes%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=gottwald+cranes&usg=__YWcaEUjy8A0M4ktcutkD_rU94H0=&docid=4Ps7QoInVvUOaM&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=CB5bUNykNcOe2wX6uIFQ&sqi=2&ved=0CEwQ9QEwBg&dur=290
Jack W.
This is my crane. It is from Walthers but no longer in production. You may be able to find one on eBay.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
What's your era?
The photo Elmer posted would be valid from the 1920's through the 1960's, but is now obsolete.
Most ocean-going ships would have used their own rigging (masts, booms and winches) to handle cargo until containers and Roll-on/Roll-off changed the game.
A modern dockside crane is huge - as are the ships it would serve. It has to handle forty foot containers as if they were cases of cans at a grocery dock.
Ro/Ro, as it sounds, involves ramps to side doors in the ship and doesn't require any dockside machinery at all.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - half a kilometer higher than any navigable water)
Chuck is right. The last of these operated in Philadelphia into the 1960's. After that it pretty much went to containerized shipping strategies.
Walthers and also Volmer made these dock side cranes.