The striking banana-shaped crane is the Fairbairn Steam crane,
now the oldest surviving exhibit of its type in Britain and a
scheduled ancient monument.
This innovative steam crane was built in 1878 by Victorian engineer
William Fairbairn, to lift heavy loads from the deep holds of ships
more efficiently than other cranes of the day.
The crane's strength lay in its jib, which was made of wrought-iron
plates riveted together to make an immensely strong tubular-section
girder. It could lift up to 35 tons (35.56 tonnes) and was
meant to supplement the lifting ability of the Docks' other 17
cranes.
But the Fairbairn proved to be a poor investment; as ships became
bigger the crane's jib could not reach far enough into a ship to
remove engines or boilers for repair. The arrival of other
cranes, such as the hydraulic and the electric models, also
rendered the Fairbairn almost obsolete.
Consequently, the crane was rarely used and when the City Docks
were closed to commercial traffic in 1973 the crane became the
responsibility of Bristol Museums, Galleries &
Archives.
The crane has now been restored to full working order and
will be seen in operation on occasional weekends, see the
events section for details.