A Hercules crane was a form of block-setting crane, developed in the 1870s. They were characterised by a wheeled, mobile gantry running on rails, surmounted by a slewing horizontal jib, held up by a kingpost.
A Hercules crane was a form of block-setting crane, developed in the 1870s. They were characterised by a wheeled, mobile gantry running on rails, surmounted by a slewing horizontal jib, held up by a kingpost.
Block-setting cranes were large cranes developed in the mid-Victorian era. They were used for installing the large stone blocks used to build breakwaters and stone piers. They could lift a heavy stone block and place it precisely, with a long jib reaching beyond the base of the crane. Several types of such crane were developed, with progressively greater reach, lifting capacity and ability to move their load sideways. The greater the load, the larger blocks could be placed at one time and so the faster a breakwater could be built. The greater their reach, the more work could be done before needing to move the carriage of the crane.
In the late-1860s, a further development of the block-setting crane design took place, the Hercules crane. A crane was needed which could set larger and heavier blocks, up to 30 tons.
The Hercules design combined aspects of both the earlier fixed-jib gantry cranes built for works at Manora and that would later be used for a slewing jib crane at Port Alfred. A horizontal jib was added, with the ability to slew sideways.
A horizontal non-luffing jib [lower-roman 1] was used, separate from the lower frame. This was supported on two carriages which could move sideways independently on curved tracks, thus allowing the jib to slew sideways over a small angle. For building linear breakwaters, this small slew angle was enough. With the load of these larger blocks, it was not yet possible to use a convenient central-pivot kingpost bearing, and full-circle slewing, as would be used for the much smaller Port Alfred crane. Although the mechanical design of the jib was as a kingpost truss, this kingpost was part of the jib and rotated with it, rather than fixed to the frame beneath it. The rest of the design continued the Manora type, with a lower frame of the crane which allowed blocks to pass through it on wagons. The crane was powered by a semi-portable steam engine in a small cabin at the rear of the jib, also helping as a counterweight.
Construction of the Dutch Noordzeekanaal from 1865 to 1876 used a variety of cranes, including two significant examples of the Hercules type. Having little stone available nearby, shaped concrete blocks were cast on-site. These allowed a more sophisticated shaping than was economic with stone, and large interlocking blocks could be used. However this also required a crane with greater lifting capacity. Two large breakwaters were constructed at the sea mouth at IJmuiden and the Zuiderhoofd and sea wall dyke at Westkapelle. [2]
Further examples were built by Stothert & Pitt for the Breakwater Crane Railway, Douglas Harbour, Isle of Man, [3] by Alexander Shanks & Son for Liepāja in Latvia, then part of Russia, [4] and a 50 ton crane for Roker Pier, Sunderland. These introduced full-circle slewing, with the jib carriages running on a circular track. The jib could now be slewed to the side of the breakwater, which at Douglas was used to allow the unloading of ships tied up alongside. As the kingpost of these cranes was part of the jib, but not part of the slewing bearing, it was placed further outboard, at the edge of the slewing track or large ring bearing, rather than on the pixot axis, as for Port Alfred. This makes the most of the truss' span for increasing the reach of the jib.
A crane is a machine used to move materials both vertically and horizontally, utilizing a system of a boom, hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves for lifting and relocating heavy objects within the swing of its boom. The device uses one or more simple machines, such as the lever and pulley, to create mechanical advantage to do its work. Cranes are commonly employed in transportation for the loading and unloading of freight, in construction for the movement of materials, and in manufacturing for the assembling of heavy equipment.
Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. Heavy equipment usually comprises five equipment systems: the implement, traction, structure, power train, and control/information.
A gantry crane is a crane built atop a gantry, which is a structure used to straddle an object or workspace. They can range from enormous "full" gantry cranes, capable of lifting some of the heaviest loads in the world, to small shop cranes, used for tasks such as lifting automobile engines out of vehicles. They are also called portal cranes, the "portal" being the empty space straddled by the gantry.
The Port of Ashdod is one of Israel's three main cargo ports. The port is located in Ashdod, about 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, adjoining the mouth of the Lachish River. Its establishment significantly enhanced the country's port capacity. It handles the largest volume of cargo containers annually of all Israeli ports. Ships carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip also unload their cargo at Ashdod.
A crane vessel, crane ship, crane barge, or floating crane is a ship with a crane specialized in lifting heavy loads, typically exceeding 1,500 t for modern ships. The largest crane vessels are used for offshore construction.
A heavy equipment operator operates heavy equipment used in engineering and construction projects. Typically only skilled workers may operate heavy equipment, and there is specialized training for learning to use heavy equipment.
A straddle carrier or straddle truck is a freight-carrying vehicle that carries its load underneath by "straddling" it, rather than carrying it on top like a conventional truck. The advantage of the straddle carrier is its ability to load and unload without the assistance of cranes or forklifts. The lifting apparatus under the carrier is operated by the driver without any outside assistance and without leaving the driver's seat.
The Port of Haydarpaşa, also known as the Port of Haidar Pasha or the Port of Istanbul, is a general cargo seaport, ro-ro and container terminal, situated in Haydarpaşa, Istanbul, Turkey at the southern entrance to the Bosphorus, near Haydarpaşa Station. It is operated by the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) and serves a hinterland which includes the country's most industrialised areas.
Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour is a port constructed on the east coast of England at Great Yarmouth. Construction work on the Outer Harbour began in June 2007. The harbour which is built in the South Denes area was planned to bring trade to the area. The plans included a container terminal and a passenger ferry terminal, but with no confirmed contracts these were not built.
The Douglas Breakwater Crane Railway was a massive self-propelled steam block-setting crane, with a capacity of 15 tons, built by Stothert & Pitt of Bath that ran the length of the original breakwater at Douglas, also used for the loading and unloading of vessels.
Sir William Arrol & Co. was a Scottish civil engineering and construction business founded by William Arrol and based in Glasgow. It built some of the most famous bridges in the United Kingdom including the second Tay Bridge, the Forth Bridge and Tower Bridge in London.
Stothert & Pitt was a British engineering company founded in 1855 in Bath, England. It was the builder of various engineering products ranging from Dock cranes to construction plant and household cast iron items. It went out of business in 1989. The name and intellectual property became part of Clarke Chapman.
A Fairbairn crane is a type of crane of an 'improved design', patented in 1850 by Sir William Fairbairn. There are numerous hand-powered versions around the world and one surviving steam-powered example in Bristol Docks, England.
A bulk-handlingcrane is one that, instead of a simple hook that can handle a range of slung loads, has an integral grab for lifting bulk cargoes such as coal, mineral ore etc.
A treadwheel crane is a wooden, human powered hoisting and lowering device. It was primarily used during the Roman period and the Middle Ages in the building of castles and cathedrals. The often heavy charge is lifted as the individual inside the treadwheel crane walks. The rope attached to a pulley is turned onto a spindle by the rotation of the wheel thus allowing the device to hoist or lower the affixed pallet.
Ajax is a floating crane built to move and install the canal locks and other large parts of the Panama Canal. Ajax also helped in ship repairs and clearing the canal as needed. Ajax and her identical sister crane, the Hercules, were the largest floating cranes at time of completion, able to install the massive Panama Canal locks. Ajax could lift a maximum of 250 tons to a height of 21 feet (6.40 m), with a close reach. At Ajax's far reach she could lift a maximum of 100 tons. Ajax and Hercules were built by Deutsche Maschinenbau AG (1910–1977) . After the Ajax and Hercules, Deutsche Maschinenbau AG later made the Langer Heinrich, or Long Henry in 1915, in use for 100 years.
Wollongong Harbour Precinct is a heritage-listed shipping harbour at Cliff Road and Endeavour Drive, in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1837. The historic precinct includes Belmore Basin, Government Dam, Government Basin, Stockade Point, Flagstaff Hill, Signal Hill, Brighton Beach, Boat Harbour and Fortress Hill. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 5 May 2010.
A block-setting crane is a form of crane. They were used for installing the large stone blocks used to build breakwaters, moles and stone piers.
A ring crane is a form of large construction crane with a luffing jib. It is distinguished by its slew pivot being in the form of a ring-shaped track, rather than a narrow central spindle. The broad base this gives to the slewing section above allows it to slew whilst carrying extremely heavy loads.
The Arrol Gantry was a large steel structure built by Sir William Arrol & Co. at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was built to act as overhead cranes for the building of the three Olympic-class liners.
Admiral Lord Walter Kerr, in the presence of his staff, members of the River Wear Commission and many influential gentleman laid a 45 ton block in the new Pier.
