Howdy gang,
Well, this idea didn't occur to me at first...some of you have seen my
photos on my blog for my gantry crane and coal loading center. (see photo attached)
Now, the major photo that inspired this (besides the "real photos"
from Rugen Island and Harzer railways) was in my Marklin HO catalog of
their coal loading structures.
The Marklin crane sat next to the raised coal loading bins and looked
so cool I wish there was a kit in G scale exactly like the HO version.
Alas...it was not to be....
So, I had to look for a good quality "G" scale crane, and found one in
the form of a 1976 Tonka metal "sand box" vintage truck with
scoop-bucket crane on the bed. Ebay $46 out the door.
The size is , to me, perfect for G--it may be a scale of 1:16 if it
has a scale, but there is even a control cab and you can actually put
lighting and personnel in it to "control" the behemoth.
I wanted a METAL crane, so I had to go back to the 1970's to get one!
It took 10 minutes to remove the crane from the truck. I put the
crane on a kitchen cutting board, and it rotates 360 degrees. Then, I
went to Home Depot and purchased "Stanley Shelving Brackets" and these
serve as strong legs to raise and support it.
Well, for a while the crane sits nicely next to the coal buckets; but
I wasn't satisfied....
The Marklin crane in the catalog runs on tracks--indeed, the
prototypes often were on tracks so the crane could move down the lane
(and go OVER a single track with wagons or cars) as well as to
reposition it.
So, last night, I mounted my shelving bracket legs on 2-axle bogie
trucks, and wala! As long as I have a parallel set of tracks--my
crane now runs back and forth!
Also, There are couplers on the bogies--yes, my Harzer Steam loco 996001 can push
and pull the crane--there is no need for my giant "unprototypical" appendage
(hand) to reach down and push or pull the crane into position! For the shunting ops, I will have a catenary setup and hopefully a 2044 Ellok to move the crane into position.
I plan to get many sets of LGB station baseplates to hide some of the
tracks, so it will look more like a Bahnbetreibswerke (how ever you
spell it!)
I didn't take any pre-lim photos last night, but was having a blast
with my new creation!
Photos of the tracked crane will be posted on my blog soon..but I need more track (the
crane will have a main run of about 11 feet!)
Well, this idea didn't occur to me at first...some of you have seen my
photos on my blog for my gantry crane and coal loading center. (see photo attached)
Now, the major photo that inspired this (besides the "real photos"
from Rugen Island and Harzer railways) was in my Marklin HO catalog of
their coal loading structures.
The Marklin crane sat next to the raised coal loading bins and looked
so cool I wish there was a kit in G scale exactly like the HO version.
Alas...it was not to be....
So, I had to look for a good quality "G" scale crane, and found one in
the form of a 1976 Tonka metal "sand box" vintage truck with
scoop-bucket crane on the bed. Ebay $46 out the door.
The size is , to me, perfect for G--it may be a scale of 1:16 if it
has a scale, but there is even a control cab and you can actually put
lighting and personnel in it to "control" the behemoth.
I wanted a METAL crane, so I had to go back to the 1970's to get one!
It took 10 minutes to remove the crane from the truck. I put the
crane on a kitchen cutting board, and it rotates 360 degrees. Then, I
went to Home Depot and purchased "Stanley Shelving Brackets" and these
serve as strong legs to raise and support it.
Well, for a while the crane sits nicely next to the coal buckets; but
I wasn't satisfied....
The Marklin crane in the catalog runs on tracks--indeed, the
prototypes often were on tracks so the crane could move down the lane
(and go OVER a single track with wagons or cars) as well as to
reposition it.
So, last night, I mounted my shelving bracket legs on 2-axle bogie
trucks, and wala! As long as I have a parallel set of tracks--my
crane now runs back and forth!
Also, There are couplers on the bogies--yes, my Harzer Steam loco 996001 can push
and pull the crane--there is no need for my giant "unprototypical" appendage
(hand) to reach down and push or pull the crane into position! For the shunting ops, I will have a catenary setup and hopefully a 2044 Ellok to move the crane into position.
I plan to get many sets of LGB station baseplates to hide some of the
tracks, so it will look more like a Bahnbetreibswerke (how ever you
spell it!)
I didn't take any pre-lim photos last night, but was having a blast
with my new creation!
Photos of the tracked crane will be posted on my blog soon..but I need more track (the
crane will have a main run of about 11 feet!)
