Railroad Crane 3D model

A railroad crane (North America: crane car or wrecker; UK: breakdown crane) is a type of crane used on a railroad for one of three primary purposes: freight handling in goods yards, permanent way (PW) maintenance, and accident recovery work. This crane is a hand-operated model that was used to lay the tracks in the early twentieth century The most varied forms of crane are used for maintenance work. General purpose cranes may be used for installing signalling equipment or pointwork, for example, while more specialised types are used for track laying. A railroad crane generally resembles a conventional fixed-location crane except that the platform the crane sits on is a heavy-duty reinforced flat car. Directly underneath the center of gravity for the crane is a pivot point that allows the crane to swivel around 360°; in this way the crane can locate its boom over the worksite no matter what its location is along the track. The trucks on the car under the crane will often include traction motors so that the crane is able to move itself along the track, and possibly tow additional cars. Larger cranes may be provided with outriggers to provide additional stability when lifting. Sleepers (ties) are often carried on the idler car to put under the outriggers to spread the weight applied to the trackbed. Breakdown cranes (sometimes called wrecking cranes or 'big hooks') were necessary to every railroad to recover derailed rolling stock and locomotives, while also assisting with bridge building and yard construction.