Cranes

This gallery of equipment images is designed to help you identify common types of construction cranes and derricks, both past and present.


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8 photo(s) Updated on: 03/12/2013
  • Locomotive crane – c. 1919 Brownhoist No. 3. Developed in 1886, self-propelled railroad cranes were the only mobile construction cranes until the 1910s. They still see use in industrial applications.
  • Crawler crane - 1963 P & H 955A. Crawler-mounted cranes could be either be purpose-built or, like this mid-sized example, be converted from a shovel, dragline or backhoe by changing out attachments.
  • Truck crane: 1945 Lorain MC414. Developed in 1919, the truck-mounted gave the crane speedy, over-the-road mobility. The latticework in the boom reinforces it; this crane could lift 15 tons.
  • Self-propelled hydraulic crane: 1969 Grove RT58. This crane’s telescopic boom gives it a wide working range, and the four-wheel-drive carrier can negotiate difficult terrain.
  • Truck-mounted hydraulic crane: 1979-1980 Lorain MCH500. Like the lattice-boom crane, hydraulic cranes could be mounted on trucks for greater transit speed.
  • Guy derrick: c. 1911 Lidgerwood Standard. The guy derrick, which utilizes a swinging boom at the base of a stationary mast secured by guy lines, is one of the earliest lifting cranes.
  • Tower crane: c. 1980 American Pecco SK71. The tower crane, with a horizontal counterbalanced boom rotating atop a free-standing mast, can be seen on many high-rise building projects.
  • Whirley crane: 1972 Clyde Iron Works 42. Also called a portal crane, the whirley travels on wide-gauge rails. It is used mostly on dams and other large concrete pours, in shipyards and at dockside.