The cars on Scenic Railways, fitted with their own electric motors, were heavier than the cars previously used, weighing upwards of a ton, with motors and gearing on the back axles.

A build up gantry was designed, which spanned the track and a car truck, the top rail of which was equipped with travelling chain blocks. The cars were positioned under the gantry and each car lifted in turn and moved over the track and lowered onto it. The track consisted of dips and hills.

A power operated device was obviously needed for the lifting, preferably with the capacity to lift the cars to the top of the hill, rather than positioning one in the dip and moving it up the hill to allow the next car to be fitted to the track.

Bradford showman Goldthorpe Marshall is credited with having commissioned the Brighouse firm of Thompson & Walton to manufacture a pillar crane to fit to the back of his Fowler engine, which could be operated using the engine’s wire rope. The post had pulleys at the top and bottowm through which a rope attached to the wire rope was fed. A tubular jib was pivoted to the foot of the post and fixed to the top by wire.