An idea for a railway maintenance crane

[playmofire]

Having bought this 3438 tow truck, it suddenly struck me that with the lettering and artwork removed it could form the basis for a railway maintenance wagon.

[playmovictorian]

This is indeed very ingenious of you dear Friend 

Karim

[basilsdad]

That is very clever, Gordon!  It wouldn't have occurred to me and it will become a very useful addition to any railway set up. 
Joe

[Tiermann]

Oh yes that would be good. Much less likely to tip over than the big mobile crane type we did in Seattle.

[DrDalek6]

Indeed that does look like potentially a good start to a crane good luck with it 

[Rasputin]

Gordon, that is a very clever custom crane for your train empire. It looks to fit just right and the colors are a perfect match. The boom slides in and out but it looks like the outriggers are permanently protruding off the bed of the flat car. I was wondering if the outrigger interfears with the coupling of the train or do you leave this as the last car on the train?

[playmofire]

As yet, Ras, it's got no further than what you see in the photo, a mockup, but the point you make is a good one.  Cutting the "hooks" the end board of the truck slides into would set the crane a few mm further back, and this would improve clearance.  If not, it would have to be the last wagon on the train, as you suggest.

EDIT:  In fact, I only tried this out after seeing the other version using the big yellow crane because I'd got the vehicle in pieces to wash after buying it.  It's in excellent condition, so if I was to make the custom, I'd try and find one in poorer condition or even just someone selling the rear section and the crane parts.

[2005huysmans]

great idea