Prototype Santa Fe Burro crane (and Lionel model 6-18405)
(This prototype data was found elsewhere on the internet)
Burro Crane
A "Burro" crane is a small four-wheel mobile lifting crane with a very small lifting capacity, designed to lift railroad ties and railroad rails as part of track maintenance. As early as 1907, the Cullen-Friestedt Company, Chicago, Illinois entered the track maintenance business with four-wheeled cranes designed to operate on rails. Starting with their Model 15 Burro Crane, the Cullen-Friestedt company's Burro Crane became the "Pack Animal of the Industry". Although there may have been other models during the past century, the Burro Crane progressed at least from Model 15 to 20, 30, 40 and 50. Additional information indicates that the Burro brand is now owned and supported by Badger Equipment Company. The Badger line includes its "specialized earthmoving, railroad, and material handling equipment, parts, and other products marketed under the Badger, Little Giant, Burro-CF, Cullen Friestedt, Western Cullen, and Burro brand names. "The easiest way to tell a Model 30 from a 40 are the pulleys on the cab. Model 30's have pulleys that sit vertically above the cab. Model 40's have horizontal pulleys on a short hinged boom in front of the cab."
Santa Fe Burro:
Santa Fe owned two types of Burro cranes, the type 30 and the type 40. Type 30's had the pulleys for the boom arm located on the roof, while the Type 40's, such as this one had pulleys located in front of the cab. The cranes were named for a popular pack animal in the Southwest United States, the burro. BN 975048 has been stored at the MOW siding at Winton, stripped of its boom, which is now used as a spare for another crane located at the wye at Merritt. Since 2007, this crane has been used for MOW work on BNSF's Scenic subdivision from Seattle, WA to Wenatchee, WA.
