Where are the crane cars?

They would most likely be in a work train consist so the train wouldn't be very long and although I believe almost every forum member has at least one, I have at least four and parts to assemble another, many forum members want a bit of realism hence the long strings of long distance trains in revenue service. I've got a K-line Alaska RR set from 1991 that is a good work train consist that includes crane and tender, I've also got a MTH Premier six car set that includes revenue cars, like boxcar, hopper, flat with load in addition to a crane car and tender, the more traditional toy train mix that produces a varied more interesting train profile than say a unit train of a single type of revenue cars.

There have been some work train threads you could search for.

These are a couple of typical length work trains. I concur that you won't find one in any of my long consists.

 They are heavy and have clearence issues at times...???

The 6 axle  Bucyrus Erie crane is one of my favorites, but is also a very heavy and high drag car with flat treads and blunt axles. Possibly the hardest too pull that I own; certainly for it's wheelbase.  I run it a mostly cast car work train; Erie switcher, two ful vintage reel rolls of lionel wire on a fish belly flat, Erie Bucyrus crane & DL&W crane tender, fish belly spotlight, NYC gonna<plastic weighted, and 6457 caboose (underframe toolboxes).

  I also have a DT&I switcher and work caboose, homemade tool car and one truck shack-body (dummy) Burro crane, following two reels on a flat car with the boom nested in the reel insuring it doesn't swing out and collide with tunnels or street lamps, etc, (it doesn't swing too easy and has balance fore and aft is great too)..also an elevated work platform car, a flatcar with a bulldozer,  and gondola with new equipment and core alike.

  I have a variety of obstacles; 3 track types, El, tunnels, S -turns, turnouts and scenery. They all require different types boom care to run. On one, the crane must get turned by a tender car.

How about one of the big three making a scale crane but without all the electronics so it doesn't cost hundreds of dollars. I would love to have a simple but scale detailed one. Our choice is a Lionel post war with oversized wheels to raise or lower the arm or a great looking one that is way over many peoples budget for one car. I know MTH made one but it was small with four wheel trucks. Six wheel beauty with scale detail is what I want. Don

Maybe the new scale Lionel car without the magic would sell to those who like cranes but don't need to operate them?

I would greatly appreciate a big scale-sized hook without the electronic felgercarb.  I have no desire to operate it remotely, just run it.

A crane car and a crane tender would be two great pieces for Menards to make. 

MTH makes a nice o scale crane car in the Premier line.

I had the NYC version. I sold it when I purchased the Lione  NYC TMCC  crane car.

i wish I had kept the MTH  premier crane car. The Lionel TMCC crane car frame hits the spring and front mounting screw on Z1000 switch machines on Ross switches.

Now I am in the process of modifying  Z1000 springs and counter sinking / replacing the front mounting screws on 51  Z1000 switch machines mounted on Ross switches

Thanks 

Richard

The MTH Premier crane is a six axle 250-ton as I recall and the Rail King is a 150-ton four axle. Both are scale sized and have been popular 2-rail conversions. They haven't been in the catalogs for a while but they're up on eBay quite frequently. 

BigRail posted:

In all the videos and pictures I see of long trains of boxcars, tank cars, hoppers, gondolas, I never see any crane cars in the consist.    Thanks, BigRail

Look here:

Many train cars in the consist!

Regards

Fred

Cranes and MOW trains are some of my favorites. Lot's of variety to look at as it passes by. There was a good MOW thread here  

I like to put mine to work around the layout too.

scale rail posted:

How about one of the big three making a scale crane but without all the electronics so it doesn't cost hundreds of dollars. I would love to have a simple but scale detailed one. Our choice is a Lionel post war with oversized wheels to raise or lower the arm or a great looking one that is way over many peoples budget for one car. I know MTH made one but it was small with four wheel trucks.

Six wheel beauty with scale detail is what I want. Don

Don,

You have been misled ? The scale MTH cranes have 6 wheel trucks https://mthtrains.com/20-98470

I have several crane cars, including the Lionel TMCC car and matching boom car.  As others have said, they're really appropriate in a work train, you don't see them rolling down the rails in a consist of freight.

I wish Lionel made more of the Legacy cranes and sound boom cars.  I want one in NS black, but another MOW would work for me to repaint.

MTH RK crane car gets a workout on the Free State Junction Railway!  It's the railroad's only crane car and it appears quite regularly in the TEAM TRACK TUESDAY thread here on the OGR forum.  As a matter of fact it will appear there tomorrow.crane car in action.

trumptrain posted:

MTH RK crane car gets a workout on the Free State Junction Railway!  It's the railroad's only crane car and it appears quite regularly in the TEAM TRACK TUESDAY thread here on the OGR forum.  As a matter of fact it will appear there tomorrow.crane car in action.

Now that's what I'm talking about!  Very nice!  Who makes that little B&O engine behind the crane?  Looks a little more detailed than a K-Line.  BigRail

BigRail posted:

trumptrain posted:

Now that's what I'm talking about!  Very nice!  Who makes that little B&O engine behind the crane?  Looks a little more detailed than a K-Line.  BigRail

Pretty sure that is the K-Line Plymouth, the detail looks just like mine.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

BigRail posted:

trumptrain posted:

Now that's what I'm talking about!  Very nice!  Who makes that little B&O engine behind the crane?  Looks a little more detailed than a K-Line.  BigRail

Pretty sure that is the K-Line Plymouth, the detail looks just like mine.

Thanks Bigrail!  Gunrunner John you have a keen eye, but then again from my being on the OGR forum for many year,  I know you know your trains :-)   It is indeed a K - line.

trumptrain posted:

Thanks Bigrail!  Gunrunner John you have a keen eye, but then again from my being on the OGR forum for many year,  I know you know your trains :-)   It is indeed a K - line.

Well, in this case I had one sitting on my shelf that I could go check, but I was pretty sure even before looking.   He was parked in front of a line of Amtrak engines.

This is a MTH Railking crane that I modified.  The original roller bearing trucks were replaced with Bettendorf trucks, the chassis was lowered, the cab was lowered, the stack was cut down and I weathered the snot out of it.  I tried to make it look more scale-like. 

Tom

A couple of photos from the great Thanksgiving Day Disaster of 2016. You can see the Big Hook in action clearing the carnage.

Home Made

810

Dorfan

2560

Dad's

Uncle Jim's Marx

and one or three Marx Derricks

Tom Densel posted:

This is a MTH Railking crane that I modified.  The original roller bearing trucks were replaced with Bettendorf trucks, the chassis was lowered, the cab was lowered, the stack was cut down and I weathered the snot out of it.  I tried to make it look more scale-like. 

Tom

Your crane look fabulous Tom!!  You did a wonderful job with it for sure!

scale rail posted:

How about one of the big three making a scale crane but without all the electronics so it doesn't cost hundreds of dollars. I would love to have a simple but scale detailed one. Our choice is a Lionel post war with oversized wheels to raise or lower the arm or a great looking one that is way over many peoples budget for one car. I know MTH made one but it was small with four wheel trucks. Six wheel beauty with scale detail is what I want. Don

MTH also made a premier 250 ton crane with the 6 wheeled trucks.  They haven't been made in a while but they are out there!

https://mthtrains.com/prod-sea...lassification%3A7040

Disclaimer: I can’t say that I would qualify as a rail fan. 

But of the many trains I have seen in transit, I have never seen a consist traveling that had a crane car. I do recall seeing one on a siding.

I've only seen one enroute in all my years living near the tracks; it was a work train of some type.

  The crane and derrick gave way to the "tractor" in many ways. The small loader and forklift grabbed a lot of work. Not obsolete but more specialized.

  I think you might have seen a small derrick or other deck crane on branch lines not fully developed yet. But after the establishment of permanent platform docks I think it would have mostly been for one special customer or an odd delivery.

    There used to be cement docks for odd deliveries here and there. "Public platforms". The one nearest us had a hoist, the gears to swing a hoist in the cement dock. A mail post on the other side. We accepted a bridgport there. (No crane; rollered to the dock edge, and forklifted a mile) The first delivery there in decades. (around 70?)

My favorite crane shot

I tried it with the Coast Guard derrick car but it was too light weight. "I had to get a bigger crane"

Partly because of this thread I felt I needed a crane car. So, I ordered a postwar Lionel 2460.      Nice photos guys.

Same but different - the 250 ton British wrecker for Cartier Mining's railroad in Quebec.

I'd like to have one with a smoke unit in it. Love those steam powered cranes.

Santa Fe "Big Hook", Diesel powered..

Santa Fe "Big Hook", Steam powered...

Santa Fe "Little Hook"...