Shoutout to the old crane yard in Pittsburgh I passed through last month

I stopped by the old rail yard near the Monongahela River to drop a load and saw something that hit me right in the nostalgia. They still have a 30 year old P&H lattice boom sitting there, faded red with weeds growing up through the tracks. Made me think about how different my cab is now compared to what my dad ran back in the 90s. He taught me on a machine that had levers you had to muscle around, no load indicators, just feel and a prayer. Now I sit in a climate controlled cab with all these screens showing me everything. Any of you guys ever go back to an old yard and just appreciate how far the equipment has come?

2 comments

2 Comments

robertb475d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah watch those old machines too, they don't have any of the safety stops your new one does so you gotta remember the basics. Keep your eyes on the load and trust your gut more than the screens sometimes.

sarah_mason5d ago

Honestly though, is it really that deep? I've seen guys try to run those old rigs without the safety stuff and they were fine, @robertb47, the basics haven't changed that much.