Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway X-5

Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway #X-5 Industrial Works 1908 75 Ton Wrecking Crane. Gift 1972 of Purdy Co. Built in 1908 by Industrial Works of Bay City, Michigan, the X-5 is a small wrecking crane designed to lift to 75 tons. Wrecking cranes were used to clean up after train wrecks, hence the name. The crane would lift the locomotive up and place it back onto the track. It was powered by a two-cylinder steam engine and used two lifting cables. The steam was provided by an oil-fired vertical boiler and the crane was capable of swinging 360 degrees (but would have to be stabilized to work within this arc). A train would need to move the X-5 to the site of a wreck, since the crane was not self-propelled. It was retired once larger cranes became available with the creation of Burlington Northern.