# Lionel #3360 Burro Crane



## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

Had an opportunity to get a little Burro Crane on ebay and was surprised at what a clever mechanism it is. I thought it only moved under its own power and that everything else was manually operated. It has the same old familiar "coffee grinder" sound as the other small powered cars. 






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNrioVi5ipE (Just in case the video doesn't show up. For some reason I can't see it. Just the empty space where it should be.)

With one driven axle it can only push or pull one car at a time. But then it's not meant to be an engine. It works well with shorty rolling stock.

Greg


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## Pontiac787 (Aug 14, 2011)

I was wondering what that crane did. What makes it swing from left to right? Does it just move forward or can it change directions?


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Pontiac787 said:


> I was wondering what that crane did. What makes it swing from left to right? Does it just move forward or can it change directions?


Uses a clutch system.
http://www.tandem-associates.com/lionel/lionel_trains_3360_burro_crane_unit.htm

Nice Greg, I have been looking to get one of those.
Have you serviced it any? Sometimes after you lube and clean it up some it will quiet down a little.


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## BWA (Jun 16, 2012)

Nice thread. I had one in 1958. I thought it swiveled as it ran, that link confirms that.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

BWA said:


> Nice thread. I had one in 1958. I thought it swiveled as it ran, that link confirms that.


They should have made some kind of control button that you could push to make it swivel.:smokin:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

It uses track trips for direction control, but I could never figure out how to use it in a command environment, so I sold mine.


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

Pontiac787 said:


> I was wondering what that crane did. What makes it swing from left to right? Does it just move forward or can it change directions?


The crane has three levers.

The first lever is on the side and slides fore and aft to control forward and reverse motion on the tracks. That's the one which is actuated by a trackside tripper.

The second lever has three positions. The first position engages the gears to the motor which allows self powered travel. The second position disengages everything including the power so that it can be pulled passively just like any other rolling stock. The third position disengages motion and engages the cab rotation to position the boom. The cab rotates 360 degrees and when one turn is complete it trips the motor switch which makes the cab reverse rotation.

The third lever on the back of the cab is lifted to disengage cab rotation, however the drum under the cab which has string wrapped around continues to turn which raises and lowers the hook. The hook is heavy die cast with an aluminum pulley and it keeps the string nicely taut. And if you keep the drum rotating in one direction the string unwinds and rewinds, first lowering and then raising the hook again. The boom is raised and lowered manually by a wheel on the rear of the cab.

There's a clutch which allows any movement function to be overridden without binding or damaging the motor and transmission.



















I was totally blown away by the sophisticated mechanical mechanism inside this crane.  and only thought that it ran back and forth and everything else was manually operated like the 12 wheeled crane.

While the motor is only a three pole, it is geared extremely low for all functions which allows authentic precise movement, boom, and hook positioning of a real crane.

I paid $120 including shipping which is the current going rate on ebay. The crane was in near new condition, and came in the original box with instructions. 

It's a really neat little crane that operates beautifully. With so many controls, it has a lot of play value because you can operate it just like a real one. 

Greg


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

big ed said:


> They should have made some kind of control button that you could push to make it swivel.:smokin:


Remember this was a product manufactured in the height of the Mechanical Era (1956-1957), and that's what I like most. The robust smoothly operating mechanism perfectly embodies the technology of its time. 

Greg


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## Pontiac787 (Aug 14, 2011)

Very cool. If I can find one for a good price that may be just the ticket to take up some of the empty space in my layout.


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## BWA (Jun 16, 2012)

Is that shorty gondola home made. Looks cool, I could use a few of those.


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## California RailFan508 (Jul 2, 2013)

BWA said:


> Is that shorty gondola home made. Looks cool, I could use a few of those.


Looks like a shortened/chopped version of the Postwar Lionel 6462 Gondola (New York Central) from between 1949 to 1958. Credit to Tandem Associates:












> *THE LIONEL 6462 SERIES 9-9/16 INCH GONDOLA CARS*
> 
> These Large Lionel Gondola Cars measure 9-9/16 inches long and they joined the Lionel line in 1949. These cars almost always appeared with the markings for the "NEW YORK CENTRAL" railroad and sometimes they came with six barrels that, until 1954, were the type that have the top and bottom rims. After this date, these barrels were of the smaller type that were sometimes stained, and these barrels were developed for use with the No. 3562 Barrel Car.
> 
> ...


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

BWA said:


> Is that shorty gondola home made. Looks cool, I could use a few of those.


Yes, they're home made. I made a set of them...










And also shortened a caboose into a little crew car to go with the small industrial engine.










Greg


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Welcome back Greg, we thought you died.


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Welcome back Greg, we thought you died.


Hey John, 

Good to be back. I got involved in another hobby developing automotive performance products, but I'll always love trains. 

Take Care,

Greg


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Yea ditto on what grj said. Nice looking Crain!


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

sjm9911 said:


> Yea ditto on what grj said. Nice looking Crain!


Thanks, man. 
For the crane to lift a load off of an adjacent car, the boom needs to at least extend out to the middle of car to be able to lift it from the balance point. So the shortened gondolas are perfectly sized.










I'm also toying with the idea of shortening an old flat car to fit the length of the crane boom.

Greg


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