australia from the past....

[Damo300]

anyone remember the articulated tractor crane ? supposedly a unique australian idea . i remember seeing these on the roads driving to jobs , same as backhoes back in the day . we had a old "chamberlain" at bradken runcorn foundry . it was ancient , but the matinence fitters loved it . same as the international in the link

https://www.msn.com/en-au/technology/ge ... ocialshare

They're known as wobblys.
Still working yards around Australia.
Appropriately named to I might add.

Along came the Franna, another Australian design, and that was it for the wobbly.

[Die Judicii]

Three differing engineering companies that I have worked for in the past, all had one.
Plus a timbermill that I did maintenance work for also had one.
And the steel merchant only 15 mins drive away has one (complete) but just parked up and forgotten.

They certainly were great in their hayday.

[Wapiti]

We all used the wobblies in the workshops. I remember the bastards well, including the weak centre pivot.
They died because they just got too old and expensive to completely strip down, blast and crack test as is required, there are 10 and 25 year inspections. The cost to pass a major at 25yrs were just too costly for all but the most cash-flush places.
But cash-flush nowadays? With the importation of most fabrication from China in the end, everything died.
Places in more remote areas just ignored these inspections as long as they could, god help the business owner who didn't and there was an accident lifting, even when the crane never contributed to the accident. Everything gone.

Smaller workshops couldn't afford a Franna.
Usually to make them pay, they had to be working all day and so the business needed the crane to stay busy not just in the yard but on their site jobs, so then a fully licensed driver that was highway licensed and dedicated high-level rigger had to be on staff as well, not just your basic or intermediate license, but advanced class.