There is no finer sight than the proud jib of a tall crane. Temporary construction cranes are an economic barometer of the health of a city. Permanent ones, such as dockside gantry cranes, offer themselves as navigational aids.
On the banks of the River Clyde near Glasgow stands a Titan crane that was built in 1907 by Sir William Arrol and Co and was the first hammerhead crane on the Clyde. Standing 47m high from the quayside, with a 45.7m counterbalanced jib and 73m overall length, it is a symbolic structure to locals and clearly visible to visitors flying into nearby Glasgow airport.
There are five Titan cranes along the Clyde, but this one, at Clydebank, is the oldest. It was built for the John Brown shipyard for fitting boilers, engines and armour plate to vessels. Its 150 ton capacity was uprated to 200 tons in 1937. It was used on numerous famous vessels including the Lusitania (1907), the Queen Mary (1936), HMS Hood (1920), Queen Elizabeth (1940) and the QE2 (1969). But the Clyde is no longer the centre of industrial activity that it once was and the yard, by then owned by Kvaerner of Norway, closed in 2000. The crane itself had been out of service for several years before that and has since been left to rust away.
The good news is that something is now being done to preserve the crane, thanks to local pressure. It is, after all, a ‘Grade A’ listed monument according to the Scottish system of protecting structures of historic and social significance. That puts it on a level with the Edinburgh Castle or Stirling Castle.
Clydebank Rebuilt, a public sector regeneration agency, is charged with clearing the dereliction of Clydebank and acting as a catalyst for the area’s revival. Preservation of the Titan crane was a priority identified through public consultation. “During the consultation exercise, we were left in no doubt of the will of the people,” the company says. “We have to protect this great icon which represents our industrial heritage.”
There is no longer any requirement for a 200t capacity crane on the quayside, so the jib has been locked in place (no need for weather vaning for a monster like this). A sum of £2.9m (nearly $5m) has been allocated to its restoration and conversion into a tourist attraction. Its future now is as a monument to the industrial past and a shining sculpture to herald a brighter future for Clydebank.
Local contractor Maclean & Spiers is currently shot blasting the structure to remove the rust, ahead of painting it its original turquoise colour.
Under designs by Chris Stewart Architects the jib is being covered with a fine stainless steel mesh with LED lights throughout it. Computer controls will animate the colour of the jib in sequences that will vary for different days, perhaps, or special occasions. The mast of the crane will be lit white.
It will not just be something to admire from a distance. A passenger lift is being added to allow up to 40 visitors at a time to ride up to the wheelhouse – where the hoisting machinery is preserved intact – and onto a walkway along the jib, subject to weather conditions. An escape stairwell is also being added.
Eleanor McAllister, managing director of Clydebank Rebuilt, tells me that she expects the work to be completed by the end of summer. Given that this is an attraction not expected to draw visitors on wet and windy autumn days, the grand opening is expected to take place in the spring of 2007, which just happens to coincide with the crane’s centenary.
While I prefer to see cranes actually working (as I believe I’ve said before), this is the clearly next best thing, so three cheers for Clydebank Rebuilt for recognising the value of industrial engineering heritage and the beauty of the structure.
