I got one myself a few years ago and I recall them adding a bit of humor to the user manual by saying “If the rigging gets tangled up, first go and calm down with a lovely cup of tea in the garden” or something like that XD

I used to drive one of the 45 T Ransomes cranes and this model has most of the details of the original, just lacks the spring loaded locking mechanism that stopped the crane body from swinging wildly when on the move. The weight relieving bogies were a nightmare as I seem to recall it took 140 turns to load or unload the crane unit. The relieving trucks took a lot of the weight off the crane axles to lower the axle weight of the whole unit making it possible to travel over most routes. The crane alone weighed 108 Tons! The chimney extension helped to draw the fire as the blower was mounted right at the top of the boiler flue so was rather ineffective without the chimney raised. Boiler pressure was 140 p. s. I. but you could raise the jib with about 25 pounds on the clock. The injectors would stop working at around 40 p. s. i. but the donkey pump would keep feeding water until about 15 p. s. i. It used a lot of steam putting the jib up but the two speeds on the lifting drum meant that it used less steam when working with a small load. The handbrakes were not particularly effective so much of the time they would have run coupled to a loco. They were very easy to turn over and great care was required when using the jacking beams to ensure the crane was stable. It would be very easy to turn over when the jib was fully in for lifting maximum loads as the crane unit was tail heavy such that if it was slewed to 90 degrees to the rails without a load on the hook and no beams out it would simply tip over on its back. Great care was needed when working on canted track as the load could swing outwards as you went down the cant to the low side! Despite the care needed, working these machines was a grand job and I would do it all over again any day. Looks a great model but it would have to be signal red in colour for my money! A very expensive piece of model railway equipment but a real eye opener too! Thanks for the review Sam. Brought back some grand memories for me and I'm sure for other guys who worked with the big cranes.

Bought back memories of having the Hornby crane as a child. When a train derailed, which was frequently, we'd try to get the breakdown crane out. The first problem was a soon as we'd get to any points, the crane would naturally derail itself. After putting it back, because we didn't have a second crane to come to its rescue, it would make its way eventually to the crash. Then we'd try to lift the stricken loco with the crane. Of course the crane was never designed to actually lift the loco and it would come crashing down, smashing the second buffer off the front of the loco to add to the first one which was smashed off in the original crash. It wasn't long till the chain on the crane snapped too under the strain. My Dad was not best pleased with my brother and I, as it didn't last long, but we did enjoy its use. It was also my Dad's dodgy track work which caused the derailments in the first place.

When these were first released you said you would not review them because of how much they costed. I'm so happy to see you doing this now, maybe one day you will review a DCC motorized crane from Roco? 😉

I remember the Ransomes And Rapier factory very well. Nowadays, sadly, you wouldn't know that a vast complex, which made all kinds of cranes, and sold them worldwide, had ever been there. (A victim of one Robert Maxwell's terrible greed) A great many of their cranes still exist, and in working order, too. A steep road, to the south of Ipswich, is still known as 'Crane Hill', as that is where they would test the performance of their road-going, and tracked vehicles. Those outrigger jacks would probably have been sitting on old sleepers to keep it level. An old flat wagon would possibly be used as part of the crane train to carry them. I'd love to see this pulled by the Southern Q1 engine. That would look superb.

"James is off the line, the breakdown train quickly!"

For me Sam it had to be the way the crane operates. All those gears and the cylinders moving, that's such a rare feature. I really wish all model cranes had this. Cheers Jasper & Willow

I've had the 1970's (tri-ang) and 2010 (china) version of the Breakdown Crane that Hornby make. Both are nightmares on the rails especially going through points. The detailing on the Hornby cranes was non existent. In seeing this Bachmann review and how it can deal with radius track and points in both directions is mindblowing. And the icing on the cake is it looks amazing.

This model just shows how good bachmann can be, at some point I would like to get one and won’t care how much I have to pay for it, it’s obviously much better that the hornby ones which I have at the moment, a good review overall Sam, one of bachmanns best items of rolling stock

I'm glad I bought mine when I did, the BR red livery was probably the first to disappear from the shelves so the opportunity to snap one up at a bargain price didn't really arise with that one. I managed mine from Hattons a few years ago when they had 7 or 8 left and were on sale for £195, and for that money I'd say it was still an absolute bargain for the model you recieve. Simply sublime!

Marklin has a DCC operated crane that ia quite a bit more expensive. RRP of 1100 euro... product number 49571

Love the review Sam. I once saw a steam crane in use (not a train one) but on the back of an old lorry (it was old in the 1970s). I was working on a farm and it was harvest. There was a 20 ton lorry full of grain stuck in the field, so the crane was called. The man who controlled the crane said he preferred the steam crane from a diesel one, because he said you had very fine control from steam. Along with the winch, this steam crane soon had the lorry out and towed up the hill.

Superb model. My Grandad was a plater and boiler maker at Ransome and Rapier so I had to have one.

Very nice crane set. Definitely a good one and I might pick one up for myself!

Wow, what a model... Well, Sam if we could have such for € 250 in H0 we would sign right now! We were looking at a self-propelled crane from Roco the other day...; all digital control, including lights, self-driving and motorised actions of the crane... You are going to faint but so did we... € 945 😮 From our point of view, yours at half the price of the original £ 250 is an absolute steal! We have no idea if the Roco model is metal (Märklin/Trix Ardelt 57 Metric Ton Steam Crane is metal at € 999 but is not self-propelled), and this Bachmann model is all hand cranked action but..., not in our life-time for the Roco... Yours is an absolute bargain! Cheerio.

I have the BR lined black one I love it one of my best rolling stock but got board having to lift the arm to put it in its box so spent the evening looking for a drill and drill bit happily worked

I brought one of these a couple of years ago. What l can remember I brought it from Hattons at £214. Its a really nice crane

Hi, this is the best non motorised model railway crane on the market, TMC had this on offer for £125 x £140 for ages, I wish Bachmann would produce it in yellow livery one day. Great review of a crane that would grace most layouts, thanks for sharing.

Without a doubt one of the best items if civil engineering department rolling stock in double O gauge, really looks the part, fabulous to see a piece of working kit like it.

Fascinating teview sam, really interesting piece of kit!

I did a similar thing recently with a 2021 Bachmann class 90 in mainline livery, RRP 229 purchased recently for 137. Bachmann are such good quality models but I don't mind waiting until they get reduced to a more reasonable level and if I miss out on one as it sells out, so be it!

Awesome video today Sam might have to get one of these

Looks very nice. My birthday was yesterday. Hope ur doing well Sam. Keep being awesome. Ur the best. Anyway ur trains are amazing as always. 😊

I do truly enjoy watching your content, at some point I hope to get as many models as you 😆

I can remember having a similar 2 car unit for my old Lionel set back in the day.

Awesome video Sam's trains 😊

I love those working pistons, that’s pretty cool!

Great review. Yeah these were very pricy on release. But the details are amazing on the cranes. The trailers either side of the main crane are designed to spread the weight. The centre of the trailer has an arm with the wheels can raise up and support the crane. But as you said they were always kept in steam in case they were needed for derailments or accidents and they would also have a Workman's coach for them and the tools, along with some wagons carry spare sleepers, ballast and parts for the jobs.

Nice. and that hook looks like it's a level luffing feature. compared to the old Hornby one I had as a kid this is head and shoulders above. Good review thanks for posting.

Thanks for the great review and the most interesting piece of Rail Road equipment.

The steam crane is a nice and useful model to add to your collection. It can be used to carefully re-rail a steam engine's tender or front end. Although I'm never going to add the crane to my collection, I think you pretty much got what you paid for. Your birthday is only a few weeks away. Would you like a Spooky Surprise or something of a Disney Theme?

Hi Sam your videos help me decide if I should buy a model

Thanks for another great review. Very satisfying crane mechanism, although my attention was rather diverted to the 08 shunter running on the layout. Can't get enough of that. If there are detailed 08 models that one can buy without a motor (as I'm not actually a modeller), I'd most likely buy it in a heartbeat.

15:56 The 'couplings' aren't really proprietary, at least not to Bachmann. The linkage is one of the features of these cranes and is there to help relieve some of the weight of the crane when travelling in a train. The two trucks are know as 'Stokes Bogies', and when properly linked to the main body of the crane, effectively become part of it.

I like the way the boom does not veer off the track in the alarming way my old Hornby one did. It was so bad it could be only static. This can be run as if on the way to a job without cleaning up all the passengers on a station or knocking over the signals.

Its is a lovely thing sam glad you picked one up there's two in my local model shop in the same livery priced at 280 euros they have been there for a while now not surprising at that price maybe if there's decent reduction i might consider one 👍

Definitely gonna be making this in wooden railway form for my customs.

Excellent review for a very impressive and unique piece of railroad equipment. I was wondering what a train would be consisted of with a crane like this. I am sure there were other pieces to make up the train. Maybe something to put together in a future show? Cheers!

Cool Steam Crane! And it's also Rocky's Basis!

That is one impressive looking crane! I hope you have had the time to get that weighbridge together. I sent an email about how it works. I’m quite sure it should be able to fit on one of your printers Sam. Unfortunently, without having minimum infill, it may have/will take a while! Thanks as always.

One of my favorites. Bachmann hit the high notes with this for sure

I have this crane too. Its brilliant and never de-rails

Great video sam! The detail and overall look is incredible - whether or not I'd pay 249.95 quid, that's a different matter! I have an old hornby crane that looks the job, but I would dearly love to get a bachmann one!

Thanks for this. It really is a magnificent model. I wanted one for my Africa-themed model railway when it first came out a few years ago, as cranes like this were used on a number of African railways, but I couldn't afford the price and I eventually bought a second hand Hornby crane on eBay for fourteen quid. It's obviously far inferior to the Bachmann one, but adequate for what I need, and fits my price range. Maybe one day if I win the lottery I might buy the Bachmann one. Come to think of it, I might need to actually buy a lottery ticket before I have any chance of winning...

Looks good, think additions of cargo and workers would make for an interesting package...

This reminds me of their US HO model of 30 or so years ago. It was great then and (in modified form) seems to still be :)

I didn’t buy one when they first came out as I thought they were too expensive. I have been lucky recently as a good mate just gave me the GWR version. I always thought they were pretty good quality and detailed. And of course you have done a good review on the crane as usual.

That detailing is amazing there's no way i'd pay the RRP but would love it in my collection and this is byfar the best review on it.

Hi Sam, Lovely crane & fair judgement on it. However, if you want the ultimate in cranes, try the Roco EDK 750. Mine is DCC Sound fitted & apart from the outriggers, it can move it'self or be towed. The jib & hook are fully automated too. Have a great one. Boa

This model was extremely cool and I loved seeing you review it, I think that motorizing the model would be a bit too complicated without making it fully dcc so I think the knob system is a good compromise despite the price

Great review as always Sam. Thank you..! I model S.R. so that would be my first choice. I think at that price a Cab light would not have been impossible to sort out. And help highlight the inner Detail. But HoHum..! I Like the Removable Key idea, it makes the item less Toy like. Unlike the Hornby example. (Please take note Hornby.!) I have never bought one, Due to that issue, alone..! Anyway Thanx for your Efforts Sam. Cheers Kim in Oz. 😎

I stopped the video at the time you mentioned the price to write this comment. I bought a crane based on an American prototype for significantly less, probably around 15 US dollars. It was a fairly simple kit, with the most difficult part being the cable (sewing thread) rigging. That was during the 1980s by a company that made kits in the United States requiring not much more than glue and a screwdriver to assemble. I bought several of their freight cars for around 5 dollars each. This is also a response to your video on model railway pricing. I wish the manufacturers, to try to help reduce what I consider exorbitant prices for their products, would offer their models in kit form, with final assembly something that the average person could handle themselves. I have seen your reviews in which some models showed signs of sloppy factory assembly including excess glue. In my mind, I’d rather do a glue smear myself instead of paying a $50 premium for a factory worker to do that for me.

Good Work.

Hi Sam. I'm not a great lover of Bachmann because of there rip off prices and do not buy the Bachmann stuff any more but that said I have to agree with you that this crane at the discount price is worth it and a great looking model and would buy it . great video thank you.

I can hear the breakdown train theme seeing this model!

The fit and finish on this is fantastic, makes me quite jealous as a US modeler who only has Athearn 250 ton cranes that use 30-40 year old tooling at my disposal.

Man that crane is a beauty think I might get one for myself

I'll probably will get one of these Sam, because my layout really need something like this to help with the derailments. Although I'll try to find it for a good price :) Cheers Jasper & Willow

If i was modelling a british railway insteas of canadian pacific i would definitely buy one of these, also nice video

That would make a great display piece.

Woohoo, I can’t lie I’ve been a bit desparate for this one (think I even tried to bribe you once to get it on earlier…😀😀 ) she’s a beaut, cheers Sam!

I'm glad there's a model of a wrecker crane than isn't some older, cheap tooling. It would've made sense for a 200 quid model to have a motor to help raise and lower the arm, as there is enough space for one. What I always found neat about British rail cranes is that they have small trucks directly in front of and behind the main crane frame. Crane cars in other countries just have more bogies under a longer frame, as well as the car the arm rests on being a more standard flatcar or gondola. These cranes would realistically run with some long flatbeds like warwells, a coach to carry the workers, and a van for any large tools.

So amazing steam crane!

What a fantastic looking piece of equipment. The details are marvelous, and the optional nameplates are so finely detailed I just don't know how they produce them... A way to make it better would be indeed a fully motorized and remote controlled version. I don't think DCC can handle so many different controls easily and finely at the same time. A Great way to do such a product would be to use a standard bluetooth videogame controller with analog sticks. Construction equipment controls are, by nature, analog in the way they are operated. It would make a super realistic experience.

If not the magnetic plugs, and clumsiness it would be perfect. I would love to see more of railway cranes in the future being reviewed. For example the one we saw at Warley Exhibition. The only thing to do is to paint it red with yellow stripes, give it a big smile and Rocky the Breakdown Crane is ready to help ;) You too, take care Sam!

I was speaking to the development manager of the model at the Bachmann lounge at Warley, the year before the model came out. An engineering sample was on display and he commented on the headaches the model gave him due to the complexity of the workings. It was a case of "we have started, so we need to finish". Enjoyed your review, but will not be adding to my collection of 737 pieces of British OO stock.

Interesting model and for what you paid excellent value Love your reviews. If you are going to put this in a breakdown train, you will also need a tool van and a coach for the breakdown crew -- both of these probably being older Southern stock withdrawn from revenue service and repainted for departmental use.

Oxford rail have been previewing a smaller, less complex crane for a year or so at a fraction of the price. I'll wait for that since i model LMS and earlier time frame. Bachmann couldn't make their mind up whether they were making an authentic model or a toy, although at the price you paid it seems a nice model.

Hi sam, Interesting video, one small thing if the crane lifting systems where motorized and and the chassis was diecast and working electric lights and spring buffers on it it would more that likely coast well over four hundred pounds, we all know stupid expensive most bachmann rolling stock and locomotives can be.

I think this really calls for a special video utilizing the crane in clearing some short of wreck

New challenge Sam. Fit some of your little coreless motors to operate the rigging!

It would be interesting to see you do a comparison with the French Jouef/Playcraft model crane from the 1960's. Obviously only available secondhand but I recently managed to get one, near mint boxed and complete for 30 GB pounds and it is an excellent model. It's contemporary was the metal Hornby-Dublo model which is nowhere as detailed as this French crane but can be picked up for less than 30 quid.

I would consider purchasing one but they dont have it BR engineers yellow

Hi, I agree with you 100% about the price, I also got mine from The Model Centre @ £124.96, although it's a good well detailed model, I think £250 is a bit much, I believe there are Motorised cranes available from the likes of Roco on the continent, I think they are around £600-£700, I used to work in ipswich in a part of of the old Ransomes factory, as @1tonyboat said you wouldn't recognise it now.

Sam the jib runner wagon that hold the jib you have round the wrong way 😊 the tool boxes should be closer to the crane the hook sits down in the bulge below

I can’t imagine how wonderfully amazing this would be if there was a tiny little pair of motors activated by a rudimentary IR remote to operate the crane.

Now that's a BDT that I need.

I had the Oxford Rail crane on pre-order for years, but when TMC reduced the prices on these I bought one, and cancelled the Oxford Rail pre-order! (Which still hasn't appeared).

It's worth qualifying your statement that these didn't sell at RRP. Four versions were released, BR Black, BR Red, GWR grey and SR grey, from memory. The red and black sold out pretty quickly, and it seems that the slow selling SR grey version has been cleared to TMC to free up warehouse space at Barwell.

It looks good

looks cool

Hey Sam, do you have any other maintenance or rescue rolling stock in your collection or is this crane the first one?

It strikes me that this model can be useful in photography of equipment and other objects. Interesting piece of kit.

It's a nice looking model, but sadly out of my price range for this type of item! I can see that it is a complexed model, that would take a lot of care and time to assemble. Glad that you have one in your collection, and have give us a good review of it. I've only ever seen one in it's box at my local model railway shop, and that was more or less full price, or with in 10 to 12 percent off!

I bought two of these, both were a tad over £200, they were on pre order, initially at £60, which rose, and rose firstly to £119, then if I remember to £175, the now defunct company did always offer prospective purchasers the option to cancel the pre-order. i thought in for a penny, in for a pound, and stuck to my guns. The price remained around the £200+ mark for a while. i did note that some vendors had none of the variations in their stock listing, so I would consider yourself very lucky to have obtained one at the price you paid. Quite how they will fare secondhand remains to be seen.

Ransomes and Rapier also made diesel tractor engine locos for narrow gauge i think one is at the Romney, Hyth & Dymchurch railway and they made turntables one is preserved at Nene valley railway

Another good Review as always Sam, I am not surprised the price had to drop before the buyers bit... The problem is in breakdown trains. Well my self at least, has always under the impression that they ran in pairs as the only way they could get enough lifting capacity to recover the larger locomotives (especially a Class 46 when they derailed!) Was to have 2 working in tandem lifts. Therefore, most modellers had to buy 2 of them to recreate a breakdown train properly. I do believe the lack of lowering feet on the support legs is probably authentic. Some steam cranes were just beams that stuck out and rested on a stack of wooden packing blocks with feet on a short screw jack to make up the last few inches because they didn't have the convenience of hydraulic technology to use. Although I could be wrong as rail cranes isn't exactly my field of study.

That is a good looking model steam crane Sam but I have to ask how much did it cost.

They were converted to diesel power and lasted well into to 90-2000s, so wonder wether Bachmann will do these later on as will broaden the era and sales... The small trucks are colled " match " trucks, the larger one " boom " carrier..the moving cradle is to allow the boom to move while the crane runs trough curves and piontwork...

A very comprehensive review as ever, Sam. The one disappointment is those outriggers, with the end sections not seeming to be able to move up/down. An awful lot of packing would be needed to enable the crane to lift stuff at 45/90 degrees to the track. Of course, the real thing used a lot of packing too, but I feel that those outriggers could've been better designed. Even the Hornby, and the earlier metal Hornby-Dublo cranes, had working outriggers - if over scale...

How do you secure your track to the carpet? When you switch the points it looks quite solid. You haven’t glued it to the carpet have you?lol😂

Think your partly right on the price reduction, Sam, some of them,38-803 the red one,used in 1960s/70s is highly sought after and has kept its price high the grey and black one can be found heavily reduced

I picked up the Horby R6183 Crane in BR Clack today, at £28, I'm happy to keep hold of the spare change haha

I wonder if we are seeing a preview of the future here. As Sam says, this model could be motorized and DCC operated. Also the quality of the gears, etc could be improved a bit so it works smoothly. Then they might have something which is worth the high RRPs they need to stay in business. Imagine the possibilities for model railways in general. Things like opening and closing doors, working points, full interior and exterior lighting, realistic sound coming from the train itself, nice smooth crawls, automatic coupling and decoupling, tiny little robot passengers (just kidding :-) All aboooard..

Review cavalex class 56 please 😊

Finally, you got it.

That is one big Rocky.

at that rrp would expect dcc control of jib and hook

Wonder if it’s able to hold anything, maybe if you used it in conjunction with another breakdown crane you might be able to hoist an engine with them?

9:47 two were scrapped - GW No. 16 in 1986 and SR 1560S in 2010.