Inside Detroit's Forgotten 1914 Railroad Tunnel Rescue Giant!

Comments · 195

• BI

  @Biocarey · 2 months ago

  Do we want a video about the tunnel building?  Heck yeah we want a video.

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• SK

  @Skivic-1 · 2 months ago

  It's quite an impressive piece of machinery to see in person. The entire village and museum are a must visit for gearheads.

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• FI

  @fire5506 · 2 months ago

  You made a comment that this crane could move itself. That was actually pretty common for railroad wreck cranes. The 3 steam cranes we had on the FEC Rwy could move them selves. They were steam until retired in the 90's. Ours were not much bigger than that one at 125 tons. The out riggers only moved in and out, men had to stack blocking under the out riggers. I did the annual inspections on the boilers and had fired them too.

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• KE

  @keepcalmandfarmon5401 · 2 months ago

  That is an awesome machine--a hybrid steam/electric! Clearing a wreck in that small diameter tunnel with that big crane must have brave men.  Love to know how that tunnel was built...looks like a lot of wood was used.

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• BE

  @berniesilva8629 · 2 months ago

  I worked on the Boston and Maine RR for sometime and was a member of the wrecking crew. We had a similar crane, about same age, that over the years was converted to diesel electric then to electric/hydraulic. 250 ton capacity. I remember rerailing an engine at a weight of 450000 lbs. Crane had a large center outrigger beam and smaller ones on each end. I spent a lot of time updating and repairing that crane.

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• FE

  @Federalwaywebbs · 2 months ago

  Of course we want a tunnel technology video or two. Another information visit-thanks

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• JI

  @jib5r · 2 months ago

  Watching this because I have not seen this machine until now.

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• BI

  @Biocarey · 2 months ago

  Record breaking bridge, over the Niagara river, available for use around the same time as the Detroit river tunnel? How interesting.

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• TY

  @tylerkimble715 · 2 months ago

  I love the work lights on this thing for some reason.

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• BE

  @berkshireerielocomotive3322 · 2 months ago

  One can consider the crane to be a conventional version of the double ended wrecking cranes of the PRR and NYC.

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• BR

  @bruceholsinger792 · 2 months ago

  Check on the Pennsylvania railroad crane  that was made at Altoona Pennsylvania

• SO

  @sommebuddy · 2 months ago

  I do not miss going through that tunnel at all. In the 80,s and 90,s it was quite a ride, and almost asphyxiating in the caboose.