Cranes

"Cranes are airy fairy things! They need a lot of attention, like me in fact!"

- Gordon, Cranky Bugs, fifth series

Cranes are a machines equipped with wire ropes or chains and sometimes fitted with hooks or grabbers. They are used to lift heavy loads, such as crates, pipes, wood and other items.

Many cranes either have names, faces or both. These cranes are used around the harbours, quarries, wharves and scrapyards of Sodor, the Mainland and aboard.

Rolling Gantry Cranes
Rolling Gantry Cranes are rail-based cranes used for loading and unloading cargo to and from ships. Examples of these cranes can be found at Tidmouth Harbour, Knapford Harbour and Brendam Docks.

Appearances
Railway Series=

The Railway Series

 * Henry the Green Engine - The Flying Kipper
 * Really Useful Engines - Fish
 * Thomas and the Twins - What a Picture!
 * Henry and the Express - Sliding Scales

Companion Volumes
Television Series= {{Scroll box|
 * 1983 - The Flying Kipper and Henry the Green Engine

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 1 - The Flying Kipper
 * Series 3 - All at Sea, Tender Engines, Oliver Owns Up and Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure
 * Series 4 - Fish and Special Attraction
 * Series 5 - Cranky Bugs, Horrid Lorry, Double Teething Troubles and Happy Ever After
 * Series 6 - No Sleep for Cranky, Elizabeth the Vintage Lorry, The World's Strongest Engine and Thomas the Jet Engine
 * Series 7 - Edward's Brass Band, Bad Day at Castle Loch, Salty's Stormy Tale, Peace and Quiet and Not So Hasty Puddings
 * Jack and the Sodor Construction Company - Jack Owns Up
 * Series 8 - Squeak, Rattle and Roll

Specials
}} Other Media=
 * 2005 - Calling All Engines!

Annual Stories

 * 2001 - Edward Saves the Day

Trivia

 * A gantry crane appears in the Big World! Big Adventures! book at San Francisco Docks, It is represented by a Faller HO crane.

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway
 * Bluebird Toys
 * Take Along

Miniature Cranes
Many miniature cranes are seen around the Island of Sodor in different locations mainly used at the harbours. Three of the miniature cranes is currently on display at Drayton Manor.

They can be mostly found at Brendam Docks and Whiff's Waste Dump.

Trivia

 * Some miniature cranes originally appeared in Thomas & Friends' sister series, TUGS.

Merchandise

 * Ertl Company
 * De Agostini
 * Thomas Engine Collection Series
 * Departing Now
 * Nakayoshi
 * Bluebird Toys

Steam-Powered Cranes
Various stationary Steam-Powered Cranes have been used as background stock in the television series. More specifically these cranes have been seen at the Timber Yard, Norramby Fishing Village, Boulder Quarry, the Works, Knapford Sheds and the Wharf.

There have also been several named steam-powered cranes featured throughout the series, including Colin, Hee-Haw, Ol' Wheezy and four other stationary steam cranes named A.J.R. No.1.

Trivia

 * The large-scale model of the Narrow Gauge Breakdown Crane was briefly reused as a stationary crane used for set dressing at the Works and Knapford Sheds in the seventh series episodes, Something Fishy, Gordon and Spencer and Bulgy Rides Again.
 * A little steam-powered crane used at the Wharf was built by Jeremy King.

The Wellsworth Scrap Yard Crane
A small grapple crane was used at Crocks Scrap Yard in the television series. Since Tale of the Brave, it has been replaced by Reg. Its job was to load pieces of scrap into the trucks of the railway.

Livery
The crane was painted brown.

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 2 - Bertie's Chase, Saved from Scrap and Percy's Predicament

Trivia

 * The crane appeared in different places, such as Ffarquhar Quarry and Vicarstown Goods Depot.
 * In the fifth series episode, "Put Upon Percy", the crane was repurposed as mining equipment.

Tower Cranes
Tower Cranes are very tall and can reach higher places. They made frequent appearances behind Knapford in the first and second series. They were used at Boulder Quarry and the Sodor Ironworks during the fifth series.

Livery
These cranes were painted brown and red.

The "Grabber"
The "Grabber" is the nickname for a crane with large retracting claws used for dismantling, smelting and scrapping machinery based at the Sodor Ironworks.

Once, 'Arry and Bert wrongfully shunted Stepney underneath the giant grabber, intending to scrap him. Thankfully, the Fat Controller arrived in the nick of time and shut the grabber down.

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 5 - Stepney Gets Lost
 * Series 6 - Scaredy Engines
 * Series 7 - Fergus Breaks the Rules
 * Series 8 - Halloween
 * Series 12 - Steady Eddie and Rosie's Funfair Special

Specials

 * 2000 - Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Merchandise

 * Tomica

A.J.R. No.1
A.J.R No.1 is a series of four stationary steam-powered cranes along the Skarloey Railway. Two of them are located at the Wharf, one is located at the transfer yards, and one at the quarry.

Appearances
Television Series= {{Scroll box|

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 9 - Mighty Mac
 * Series 10 - Follow that Flour, Thomas' Tricky Tree, Which Way Now?, Missing Trucks and Duncan's Bluff
 * Series 11 - Ding-a-Ling, Thomas and the Big Bang, Sir Handel in Charge and Wash Behind Your Buffers
 * Series 12 - The Party Surprise, Push Me, Pull You and The Man in the Hills

Specials
}}
 * 2008 - The Great Discovery
 * -|Other Media=

Magazine stories

 * 2007 - Ding-a-Ling!
 * 2009 - Thomas and the Big Bang and The Party Surprise!

Trivia

 * It is unknown what the letters "A.J.R." stand for.

Mainland Cranes
Many cranes work at dockyards located on the Mainland. Some cranes worked at the Great Yarmouth Docks, where Toby and his brothers also worked. Two other cranes work at another harbour on the Mainland.

Beresford is another crane who works at a canal.

Livery
The cranes are painted grey and brown.

Basis
The cranes are based on photographic references of various cranes from the 1920s to the 1950s. Cranky is also based on these cranes.

Appearances
Railway Series=

The Railway Series

 * Toby, Trucks and Trouble - Toby's Seaside Holiday
 * -|Television Series=

Videos

 * 2017 - Great Race Friends Near and Far: Gina the Smart Steam Engine

The Pink Hammerhead Crane
A pink hammerhead crane works at Guanabara Bay in Brazil. It has no face.

Livery
The hammerhead crane is mainly painted magenta, with a grey cabin and supports. The side of the crane is painted with yellow and magenta hazard stripes.

Basis
Although the hammerhead crane is a Brazilian crane, it is actually based on an American WWII USN 20t Tower Crane. Big Mickey and Kobe are also based on this crane along with the grey crane at Dar es Salaam Docks.

Appearances
Television Series=

Specials

 * 2018 - Big World! Big Adventures!

Trivia

 * The pink crane's render is a mix of Big Mickey's faceless cab and Kobe's body recoloured pink.

Other Cranes
Other various types of cranes have been used as background stock in the television series. These can be found all over Sodor and other places.

In The Great Festival Adventure, three recoloured copies of Cranky appeared.

In Big World! Big Adventures!, several recoloured cranes were seen in other countries.

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway