Build a container crane
Peter Marriott test-builds Bachmann’s giant container terminal crane kit and shows you how it can give a big lift to any layout.
Peter Marriott builds Bachmann’s giant container terminal crane.
Visitors to Model Rail Scotland can’t fail to be impressed by the huge Finnieston crane, 174ft tall, that stands sentinel over the redeveloped Queens Dock area of Glasgow. When I see this gigantic structure I feel a tinge of sadness that it’s no longer being used to export products from Glasgow’s factories, workshops and yards. You can still find spiritual successors to the Finnieston crane on the Clyde, at Clyde Port. These giant cranes, like their cousins at ports throughout Britain, from Felixstowe and Tilbury to Southampton, Liverpool, Cardiff and Hull, lift the ubiquitous shipping container, day in, day out. Felixstowe’s new cranes, for example, stand an impressive 164ft above the dock. The crane is going to be the focal point of any container port or terminal layout. As they’re so big, models are going to be rather expensive. Heljan’s operational crane wasn’t cheap when new, but second-hand items rarely sell for less than £500. This container crane is arguably the most eye-catching item in Bachmann’s Scenecraft range. It’s big. It’s so big, in fact, that it comes in kit form, whereas all other Scenecraft items can be used straight from the box. It’s not cheap, as befits its size and status, and it’s also non-working. But what a focal point it creates! Despite its size, construction is very simple But the crane’s impact proves once again that resin-based structures give us the chance to make good-looking model railway layouts a lot quicker than scratchbuilding everything ourselves.