Portal Gantry Crane Introduction

The 282 Portal Gantry Crane and the 282R Portal Gantry Crane was manufactured by Lionel between 1954 and 1957.  The 282R is a redesign of the 282 that resulted in a better performing operating accessory.  The 282 / 282R replaced the 182 Magnetic Crane which was last produced in 1949.  The base of the gantry crane, however, has wheels allowing the gantry to move along rails whereas the magnetic crane was designed with a static base.

The gantry crane features electronic control of the cab rotation, winch and hoist operation (raise / lower), and an electromagnet that hangs at the end of the hoist!  Raising and lowering of the boom can only be operated by hand.  Likewise, movement along rails requires the user to push the gantry crane base.

For the Ultimate Trainset build, the plan is to create specialty track expressly for the purpose of gantry movement along rails.  Additionally, motorization of the gantry movement will be part of the upgraded features.

Here is a feature comparison between the two cranes included in the Ultimate Trainset: