An old engraving of William Armstrong’s hydraulic crane of 1845. It is from a Victorian book of the 1890s on discoveries and inventions during the 1800s. William George Armstrong (1810–1900), was an English engineer and industrialist who founded Armstrong Whitworth on Tyneside, England, UK. Armstrong’s created the first hydraulic crane in 1845. Armstrong developed a piston engine that used water pressure. His crane could unload ships faster than conventional ones. The illustration shows the crane, its below-ground hydraulics, plus the ‘accumulator’ (right), where the water ‘power’ was stored.
An old engraving of William Armstrong’s hydraulic crane of 1845. It is from a Victorian book of the 1890s on discoveries and inventions during the 1800s. William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong (1810–1900), was an English engineer and industrialist who founded the Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing concern on Tyneside, England, UK. Armstrong’s passion for hydraulics led to the creation of the first hydraulic crane in 1845. Armstrong developed a piston engine instead of a rotary for driving his hydraulic crane. In 1845 a scheme was set in motion to provide piped water from distant reservoirs to the households of Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, UK. Armstrong was involved in this scheme and he proposed to Newcastle Corporation that the water pressure could be used to power a quayside crane. His hydraulic crane could unload ships faster and more cheaply than conventional cranes. The illustration shows the crane and its below-ground hydraulics, plus the ‘accumulator’ (right), where the water ‘power’ was stored – in reality this was positioned a distance from the crane itself. The experiment proved so successful that three more hydraulic cranes were installed on the Quayside to unload coal from barges at the quayside at Newcastle. The hydraulic crane helped the North East of England to grow and prosper. The success of his hydraulic crane led Armstrong to consider setting up a business to manufacture cranes and other hydraulic equipment. He was also an eminent scientist, inventor and philanthropist. In collaboration with the architect Richard Norman Shaw, he built Cragside in Northumberland, the first house in the world to be lit by hydro-electricity.
Size: 3307px × 2953px
Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, UK
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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