The
Dockyard Railway, Chatham
Steam Cranes
The steam cranes supplied to
Chatham Dockyard were "Locomotive Yard Cranes", these were
cranes designed to haul wagons around the dockyard railway system as
well as lifting goods as required.
The cranes were built by Grafton Cranes Ltd at their Vulcan Works in Bedford, and were delivered to the dockyard in the 1930s and 1940s.
The cranes run on a six wheeled carriage, with a coal fired boiler and were designed to work on a presssure of 100psi.
The 30ft worm-driven jib is driven from the 2-cylinder main engine and is fitted with a single hoist rope, which has a lifting capacity of 5 tons at 24 feet or 3 tons at 30 feet.
There are four ex-dockyard steam cranes on the Historic Dockyard Railway, these are:
Works No.2528.
Privately preserved and being
restored to working order.
Works No.2547.
Privately preserved and is
fully operational.
Works No.2641.
Currently waiting a decision
on restoration.
Works No.2675.
Privately preserved and is
fully operational.
In addition to the ex-dockyard cranes listed above, an ex-Southern Railway steam crane can now also be seen at Chatham Historic Dockyard:
'Horace' - Works No.2671:
Build by Grafton of Bedford in 1928 (Works No.2671) as part of an order for the Southern Railway. Fitted with 'clam' grab-buckets and used for coaling locomotives and emptying ash pits - a task undertaken at the smaller steam sheds, which did not have mechanised coal handling plants. These cranes were of the 'London' type of steam crane, where the engine is mounted on the bed-casting floor, unlike the 'Leeds' type which had the engine on the outside of the bed-casting. A vertical Cochrane boiler is mounted at the back which supplies steam to the engine - this boiler now operates at 60 psi.
The early history of No.2671 is unknown - its last shed duties being at Ashford (Kent) were it was used by the scrap contractors to remove the rails and fittings around the now closed steam shed. The crane would almost certainly have been cut up for scrap itself, had not the old engine shed site at Ashford become the South Eastern Steam centre.
By now the little crane, had gained the name 'Horace' (nobody seems to know why) and shared the steam centre with such locomotives as Clan Line, the French pacific, the H and C class of the old SE&CR (South Eastern and Chatham Railway).
At some time in the late 1970s the steam centre closed and the remaining stock was seized by British Rail as payment for overdue rent. The scrapmen moved in to clear the site. but in the 'nick of time' Dave Milam, owner of the newly started Lavender Line, stepped in and bought 'Horace', a Pullman carriage, and also some wagons.
These were moved to Isfield near Lewes in East Sussex. Little work was carried out on the crane, and it was eventully sold to Rick Marner in 1987. He moved it away to a private site near Gatwick Airport, where restoration was carried out and 'Horace' steamed again. Rick also built a new cab and refitted the roof.
Unfortunately the site was sold so a new home was sought, and 'Horace' returned to the Lavender Line, by now in full working order. 'Horace' was steamed on 'Goods Train' weekends and bank holidays at Isfield, but his 2-ton lifting capacity made the crane too small for practical use, so it became a demonstration steam crane.
'Horace' moved to Chatham Historic Dockyard in March of 2005.
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