Restoration and Operation of Two ex-Chicago and Northwestern Railway Cranes

[JohnBrazil]

Hey Everyone!

I'm John Brazil. Being a member of the US's LARGEST railroad museum (Illinois Railway Museum, Union, Illinois), I get to work on, and restore, some of the nicest pieces of railroad equipment. Also, being a member of the Museum's Heavy Lift Group allows me to restore and operate some really great and historical railroad wrecking cranes. I'm talking about two cranes, in particular: 1) a 1926 Bucyrus wrecking crane:usa (ex- CNW 6363) and, 2) a self propelled OHIO locomotive crane:usa (ex CNW 262051) . These cranes came with boom and idler flat cars. Come to think of it, there is enough equipment for TWO OPERATING wreck/work trains. Our museum has one certified wrecker operator and he is training 10 more very soon. We have a five-fold purpose: 1) pick up any derailed cars at the Museum, 2) perform railcar equipment lifts that come to the museum on semi-trucks or railroad flatcars, 3) perform lifts and car moves for other Museum departments, 4) actively restore and maintain these beautiful machines for future generations to enjoy, and 5) demonstrate for the public how big hooks and wreck/work trains work. I should add that, even though we've had the 6363 since 1990 and the OHIO since June, 2013, we haven't had a Heavy Lift department to do these things. Now we do!!:woohoo

I'll be posting more in the way of specs and histories of the equipment in our care. I'll also be updating our own Web Blog on the Illinois Railway Museum page: [url]www.irm.org. [/URL] . Just click on HEAVY LIFT DEPARTMENT blog. These cranes and cars are like battleships. They require constant attention and maintenance. So, if you would like to donate, please feel free to contact me at: john.w.brazil@gmail.com. I'd be glad to answer any questions you have about anything related to our equipment. Thanks!

 

[95zIV]

Well,

I guess I know where I'm gonna be visiting this weekend.

 

[Tiny]

Those look like a couple of good sized horse's

 

[wormkiller]

Nice to see a "new" crane out there. I got to work for the steam dept. in the '90's before kids. Who is the hoisting engineer?

 

[norite]

Impressive machines, thanks for the pics and welcome to HEF.

 

[JohnBrazil]

Irm heavy lift master

Nice to see a "new" crane out there. I got to work for the steam dept. in the '90's before kids. Who is the hoisting engineer?

Hi. Marco Secco is the Department Head of the Heavy Lift Department. You couldn't ask for a better guy to run our group. He's recently retired from the UP. He leads a group of great guys with years of railroad and electric utility experience.

We are an equal opportunity bunch. So, anyone who is interested in cranes, railroads, heavy lifting and having fun doing it... IS WELCOME to join us. Email me for more info.- John

 

[JohnBrazil]

impressive machines, thanks for the pics and welcome to hef.

thanks. The ohio crane is a godsend and is our work horse. The 6363 is priceless. Bucy yrus still exists, but parts for this crane have to be made or scrounged. We are organizing a fundraiser to do. A two part refurbishment. 1) general interior and exterior hot power wash to remove grime, body work and boom maintenance, minor and moderate repairs to one of the boom stop dogs, and change out cracked wheels on one axle. 2) prime and repaint the interior and exterior (as of this writing, the 6363 will be repainted safety yellow/green to match the rest of the train), including lower car body, recasting of the builders plate, air compresser rebuild. We are going to be organizing fundraising drives to support our work. We also have boom tender and flat cars plus a former cnw rpo passenger car. So, we will be doing alot of fundraisers. If you, or any readers would like to help, please contact me by email.

 

[JohnBrazil]

impressive machines, thanks for the pics and welcome to hef.

thanks. We are very fortunate to have these machines.