Crane engines
THE withdrawal in past months of the former North London Railway locomotive from Bow, and one of the three ex-Great Eastern engines from Stratford works, indicates that the crane locomotive will soon be extinct on British Railways.
The idea of fitting a crane to an engine for shunting duties, primarily in works yards, appears to have originated with the North London Railway engine in 1872. It was not until some years later that other railways copied the idea and adapted existing engines by mounting a small crane, with a fairly short jib capable of lifting about four or five tons, usually on the bunker, although this position was varied in one or two cases in later instances.
The North London engine started life as long ago as 1858 in the form
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