Finnieston Crane

The Finnieston Crane is a giant cantilever crane, 175 ft tall with a 152 ft cantilever jib. It can be ascended either by a steel staircase or an electric lift, the only example of such a personnel lift in Britain. The docks serviced by the crane were closed in 1969, and have since been filled in and redeveloped. It is one of four such cranes on the Clyde, after the Fairfield Titan was demolished in 2007, and one of only eleven giant cantilever cranes remaining worldwide. and also in the backdrop of Live at Five on STV 2.

The present crane, constructed as a replacement, was the last giant cantilever crane to be built on the Clyde. It was commissioned in June 1928 by the Clyde Navigation Trust, the operators of the port and dock facilities in Glasgow, completed in 1931 and commenced operation in 1932. The tower was built by Cowans, Sheldon & Company of Carlisle and the cantilever by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company, under the supervision of Daniel Fife, mechanical engineer to the Clyde Navigation Trust. The total cost of the crane and foundations was £69,000, 85% of which was met by the Trust.