Victoria Dock. View of hydraulic crane.

Description Victoria Dock. View of hydraulic crane.

Catalogue Number SC 361825

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of ED 5405

Scope and Content Hydraulic Crane, Victoria Dock, Leith Docks, Leith Leith Docks, first begun as enclosed docks running parallel to the shoreline in 1801, were filled in and replaced by the present range of docks - the Edinburgh, Imperial, Victoria and Albert - in 1851-81. The smallest, the Victoria Dock, opened in 1851. The Albert Dock, engineered by Alexander Rendel and George Robertson, was completed in 1869. It cost almost £300,000 to build, and was the first dock in Scotland to have lock gates operated by hydraulic machinery, and the first to have hydraulic cranes. This hydraulic crane, which survives from 1903, was the first of its type in Scotland. It runs on tracks along the east end of the Victoria Dock, and has a timber sentry-box beside it. It was made by Cowans Sheldon and Co Ltd. and was designed to load and unload goods from ships. There had been at least one crane at Leith since the early 16th century, but the only illustration dates from 1671. It was worked by an enormous wheel, turned by a man walking round inside it, and was used to unload barrels of French wine and brandy. The original harbour of Leith was a sheltered anchorage at the mouth of the Water of Leith. A wooden pier was made for the unloading of stores in 1544, and a wharf, built in the early 17th century, was extended when the first small dock was built c.1720. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/361825

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap