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PostPosted: 22 Jun 2019, 12:27 
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Joined: 23 Dec 2010, 00:07
Posts: 384
Location: Poole, Dorset
It seems that some seven years after the crane moved to Crewe it is once again facing uncertainty. The latest Tractionads lists it for sale.

Hopefully scrapping is not being considered this time. Anyone know more?


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PostPosted: 25 Apr 2020, 15:32 
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Joined: 23 Dec 2010, 00:07
Posts: 384
Location: Poole, Dorset
An update to the story, April 2020.

Sadly the fellow who saved this crane by buying it in 2011, David Lewis, passed away last year, which is why the crane was advertised for sale once again. The good news is that it has been purchased by the Lancashire Mining Museum located at Astley Green, Manchester, with the help of a grant of £11,020 from the Hamilton Davis Trust. The crane was moved from Crewe on the 18th December 2019 to its new home.

At this time we do not know whether there is an aspiration to return the crane to working order, but it actually doesn't appear superficially to be in bad condition when moved, and restoration to working order is probably possible, albeit expensive. The BDCA hopes in due course to make contact with the Lancashire Mining Museum and find out more about the future intended for this remarkable survivor.

There is a 12-minute video of the crane leaving Crewe at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBjpKKk ... e=youtu.be which is well worth a watch, and if nothing else provides a very graphic illustration of the benefits of independent rear-wheel-steering on a long trailer, and a good example of extremely skilled driving. I was also pleased to see that the move was contracted to Reid Freight, since those who followed the saga of this crane before will probably remember that David Reid was the person who played the most significant role in ensuring its survival last time. If you do watch the video, look out for the Tesco sign at around the 9:00 minute mark, under the present circumstances it is somewhat topical! The video does wrongly date the crane to 1903, it is actually 1908 of course.

The Lancashire Mining Museum has a website here:- https://lancashireminingmuseum.org/

The Hamilton Davis Trust (about which I know nothing except that I admire the trustees' good taste in approving worthy projects for grants) has mention of the grant for the crane on its website here:- https://hamiltondavies.org.uk/grant_years/2019-20/

This crane must have used up almost nine lives by now, let us hope that a period of stability and conservation, if not restoration, will now follow.


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