Present Your Case

If there’s something that you think needs to be offered ready-to-run, here’s the place to voice your opinion…

Got an idea for a model you want to see? This is the place to voice your opinion.

Locomotive: Crane tank Proposed by: P.D. Smith, Sheffield

I found a seller on ebay who produces a crane tank conversion using the Hornby Railroad GWR ‘101’ 0-4-0T chassis. This model crane tank is based on No. 4101/01, a Dübs crane tank built for Shelton Iron and Steel Works near Stoke. I was intrigued by these locomotives so, as an LMS enthusiast, I checked my own library to see if the LMS had any crane tanks. It did: eight EX-LNWR 0-4-2CTS, built between 1892-1895 and a North London Railway 0-4-2CT that was built as an 0-4-0ST in 1858 – and wasn’t withdrawn by BR until 1951.

What would make it viable?

The crane tank was an attempt to provide an economical machine for factories and workshops. They combined the pulling power of a locomotive with the lifting power of a crane. The GWR, SR, LMS and LNER all had crane tanks. Along with Dübs, crane tanks were built by the likes of Andrew Barclay, Beyer Peacock and Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns for shipyards and steel works. Any crane tank would make a superb model. With today’s technology, it would be quite feasible to have a ‘OO’ gauge crane tank with a working jib. Just imagine a layout based on William Doxford’s shipyard on Tyneside, with up to four crane tanks in action. Choosing a suitable crane tank is difficult: it would have to come down to a choice of three – Andrew Barclay, Dübs and RSH.

Can I see a real one?

Yes. There are nine crane tanks in preservation: three Andrew Barclays (at the Ribble Steam Railway, Midland Railway – Butterley and Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway), four RSHS (Foxfield Railway, Tanfield Railway, Keighley & Worth Valley Railway and Bressingham) and a Black Hawthorn 2-4-0CT at Beamish. Dübs No. 4101 is operational at the Foxfield Railway.

Have your say Do you agree with P.D. Smith’s argument? Go to www.facebook.com/modelrail or www. twitter.com/modelrailuk and post your verdict.

How to join in

Want to present your own case? Send us 400 words explaining your choice to modelrail@bauermedia.co.uk, putting ‘Present Your Case’ in the subject line.