GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Knowle & Dorridge: gwrkd2801a

Close up of image 'gwrkd2801' showing Knowle and Dorridge's fixed six ton open framed jib hand operated crane. The advantage of an open framed jib, constructed using tubular steel, was that it was much lighter than the previous type using solid side beams with cross strengtheners. The new model therefore made the job of operating the crane much easier as the effort in cranking the flywheel by hand was much less. The pair of chains, often called 'brothers' by navvies, are hanging over a piece of redundant track indicating the photograph was taken just after the yard reopened.

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