Loading Lima crane

This Lima 2400 crawler crane was brought to the Isle of Man to unload containers from a new container service which had been started up in opposition to the Isle of man Steam Packet Company. The crane arrived in parts in a coaster and was lifterd out of the coaster and built on the Victoria Pier, Douglas by the floating crane Mersey Mammouth. After a few months the new service failed ( as they normally do) and after lying unused for some time the crane was shipped out to Swansea. To do this I drove it one Sunday morning from the Victoria Pier to the inner harbour at Douglas. All the overhead lighting had to be removed. The highway authority insisted that plywood sheets be placed under the tracks to protect the road surface, however when turning one of the corners, the plywood caused too much grip which caused one of the drive chains to break. The crane was marooned for several hours until repairs could be effected. Eventually I drove the crane onto the pontoon Beverley in Douglas harbour. The pontoon was interesting, it had been built during the war as a self propelled floating crane and after the war was purchased by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Co and named Birkett. Later she was bought by the British Transport Docks Board in Hull and renamed Beverley. After use as a floating crane the propelling machinery was removed as was the crane and the hull was used as a pontoon. Laxey Towing Company tug and the hull was used as a p[0 and the hull was used as a pontoon.

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