Steam Work Derricks

[Mark Johnson]

A couple of questions about the steam derricks owned by the Monon:

1. Where is the operator's position? All the pictures I've seen of SWD-1, 2, and 3 don't make it obvious where the crane operator sits/stands to work the controls. There must be a control stand somewhere...

2. As these were steam-powered units, did they require a crew that included both an operator and a fireman?

Mark J
Columbia, MO

[Ron Marquardt]

Mark, there was no control stand as such, just an assortment of levers, and the operator spent a lot of his time standing up.  In the attached picture you can see the controls inside the wrecker on the far right side, but the location varied from wrecker to wrecker.  The wrecker operator didn't have a very good view and often operated from hand signals passed to him by another carman.  In either event, the signals originated with the wrecker foreman standing on the ground near the action.

The wrecker did have a fireman that fired the boiler on the wrecker.  / Ron 

[Gene Remaly]

Ron:
Is that photo one of the Bloomington wrecker ?
It must have been a summer shot. They had a canvas "winter front" that sort of enclosed the operator in cold weather.

[Mark Johnson]

Ah...very informative. The 'operator position' on the picture sure wouldn't comply with today's OSHA and FRA safety standards!

Thanks, Ron!

Mark J

[Ron Marquardt]

No Gene, that's the little shops wrecker helping load a limestone column at Hoadley's quarry in Stinesville.  / Ron

[Tom Kepshire]

Here is a photo of a steam wrecker and tender. This photo is courtesy of the Dyer Historical Society and is working a wreck near the depot in 1928.

[Ron Marquardt]

There is also a fine two-part George Lortz article on steam derricks (we called them the big hooks) in the May and August 2000 issues of the THL.  / Ron 

[George Lortz]

Here is an interesting photo recently on eBay.  The caption reads:

Monon #80003; Atlanta, GA; 9/04/72; nickannebran collection; w/L&N #1239

It gives some insight into where the derrick(s) were used after the merger.

George L.

[Mark Johnson]

George - thank you for that one; I always figured the Monon derricks went straight to the scrap pile after the merger. Good to know they lasted at least a year or so.

Mark J
Columbia MO