22.01.2019
Can you identify this crane?
A reader has asked if any of our regular visitors can identify this crane from the 1970s.
In his own words: “Can anyone help identify this tower crane which was the very first tower crane that I ever saw when it helped construct ‘Pavilion House’ in Scarborough when I was a child in the mid 1970s. Any ideas would be welcome..”
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Can you identify this tower crane from the 1970s ?
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UPDATE
We have received the following email from Janez Jeraj of DVIG in Slovenia:
Regarding old Potain tower crane. It looks like our used Potain model 744, year 1979. We bought used one and made complete reconstruction in last two years (blasting, painting, new electronics and additional remote control).
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DVIG's refurbished 1979 Potain 744
We assembled this Potain on our storage yard in 1360 Vrhnika, Slovenia to loading our lifting gears and mobile cranes ballast etc...
Thanks for the great feedback.. it seems so odd to put the hoist winches at the tower base instead of the counter jib... the pole through the cab must have been so strange.. yet normal back then .. who would have ever thought to put the winch there !
Many thanks for the experience of your readers to give me their feedback!
Regarding old Potain tower crane. It looks like our used Potain model 744, year 1979
We bought used one and made complete reconstruction in last two years (blasting, painting, new electronics and additional remote control).
We assembled this Potain on our storage place in 1360 Vrhnika, Slovenia to loading our lifting gears and mobile cranes ballast etc...
Janez Jeraj
DVIG d.o.o., VRHNIKA
dirk113
Potain 643
The crane in your picture is a Potain 764. It?s an early version about 1970 because of the cab with the thruppeny bit shaped cab. The driver would open the front of the cab and climb onto the seat with his feet dangling into oblivion.
He would have to reach out and pull the front shut and the controls were mounted in the cab front
There was a pole in the middle of the cab for the hoist rope to pass through as the hoist winch was inside the bottom mast section.
Michel Deltour
Potain 646 G
RCS Hoist/winch located in the base tower below
and guided through the collector in the middle of the slewing ring
it was a very popular tower crane