Hand-operated Cranes
In 2017, I spotted a couple of small wagon-mounted hand cranes laid aside at Myitnge, but I wasn't able to take a photograph.
Steam Cranes
During my tour of Insein Locomotive Works in May 2015, I paid a brief visit to the 'scrap line' and made a hasty record of two steam cranes lying there.
The first vehicle was a 30-ton steam crane made by Cowans Sheldon and Company Limited in Carlisle in 1933. The cast-iron worksplate gives the works number as 5373 but the top line reads R.S.R. - Burma Railways, suggesting that the same design was shipped to both Thailand and Burma. The crane carried a second cast-iron plate which I assumed was the Burma Railways running number '30TSC 9878'. The crane was paired with a match- or runner-wagon bearing a cast running number plate marked 'J 4886'.
The other crane was also a Cowans Sheldon product but rated at 35 tons, works number 8628 built 1945. A cast-iron plate gave the running number as '35TSC 9887'. In this case, the match wagon was built by Hurst, Nelson and Company Limited in Motherwell and carried a cast-iron plate giving the running number as 'J 9817'.
The 35-ton crane with the older, 30-ton crane in the background.
Diesel Cranes
I saw a 60 ton diesel crane in Insein Works, painted canary yellow and labelled 'QIQIHAR CHINA' and 'N603-102'. This was supplied to Myanmar in 1995 by the CNR Qiqihar Railway Rolling Stock (Group) Company Limited. The company's website here. I believe other exports to Myanmar were Depressed container wagons, Brake Vans and Covered Wagons (all with a 12.5 ton axle-load). Qiqihar is a large industrial city in north-east China. Oddly, this city is called 'The City of Cranes' because it is the habitat of Red-crowned Cranes.
Qiqihar 60-ton crane inside Insein Locomotive Works, Yangon.
At Mahlwagon Diesel Depot I found an Orton McCullough 45 ton diesel crane bearing the painted running number '45.T.DC 9892'. I didn't know this manufacturer but, according to the Historical Construction Equipment Association based in the U.S.A.:- "Orton & Steinbrenner Company was apparently founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1906. It was renamed Orton Crane & Shovel in 1922, then Orton Crane Company. It discontinued cable cranes in 1945 to focus on locomotive cranes. John F. McCullough purchased the company in 1972 and renamed it Orton-McCullough Crane Company. Orton-McCullough relocated to Huntington, Indiana, and apparently ceased operations by January 2012".
Jib of Orton McCullough 45 tone crane.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing railways in Myanmar. Clicking on the 'All my Myanma-Railways reports' link displays all the posts in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Myanma-Railways reports
My photograph albums
Where necessary, clicking on an image above will display an 'uncropped' view or, alternately, pictures may be selected, viewed or downloaded, in various sizes, from the albums listed:-
Rail-mounted Cranes in Myanmar.
[Qiqihar website updated, 6-Dec-2019]
