Titan Clydebank

Titan Clydebank stands at the end of a U-shaped fitting-out basin in West Dunbartonshire. It is a 49-metre-high cantilever crane built to lift heavy ship parts during the fitting-out of battleships and ocean liners. The crane was the world’s first electrically powered cantilever crane and the largest of its kind when completed in 1907. It was designed by Adam Hunter and built by Sir William Arrol & Co. for John Brown & Company’s shipyard. The crane lifted engines and boilers into some of the 20th century’s biggest ships, including the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth 2. It survived the Clydebank Blitz in 1941 with no damage while the town was heavily bombed. After years of neglect, it was restored in 2007 as a tourist attraction and shipbuilding museum. In 2015, a bungee jump was added to the structure, and it now features on the Clydesdale Bank £5 note. Visitors can ascend to the jib via a lift and walk around a viewing area surrounded by wire mesh. Floodlights illuminate the crane at night, and the surrounding basin offers views of the River Clyde. The crane weighs about 800 tonnes and sits on four concrete piles sunk 23 metres deep. Its arms stretch 45.7 metres and 27.4 metres, making it a striking landmark in the local landscape.