A to P 11: Cranes

Our pilot identified Titan, located in Gamboa,  as “Herman the German.”  Any idea why?

She’s a floating crane, docked along the Canal but still in service.  She was one of four built in Germany for the Kriegsmarine in 1941.  From 1946 until 1994, she worked in Long Beach as YD-171.  And in 1997 she was moved to the Panama Canal.  According to this technical site (with good photos) she has lifting capacity of 350 tons.

Near the Balboa train station  I saw Bucyrus steam railway crane, No. 64, one of the originals from the 100+ year ago construction.

I took this photo from a bus while passing land side of the Balboa container port.

 

At several of the locks, Ohio cranes stand at the ready.  Maintenance on gates and valves is performed while traffic is passing; hence the crane on the lock.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.