The Company started in 1820 when a firm of millwrights was started by Jeremiah Balmforth, David Smith, and Jeremiah Booth in the village of Rodley. The company progressed to making Stone cutting machinery & winches. By 1840 most of the equipment being made was cranes. These being of various capacities from 1/2 ton to 10 ton, hand operated machines. They built there first steam crane in 1860. By 1861 David Smiths Son Thomas had taken control. The company was run as a partnership with his sons till he died in 1902, with the sons incorporating the company in 1918, as Thomas Smith & sons (Rodley) Ltd.

Early DevelopmentsEdit

• 1887 Build 1st excavator, of a steam crane fited with a shovel attachment.
• 1894 Build an Electric crane.
• 1887-1893 Contract to supply 5 & 10 ton cranes to Manchester ship canal builders "Thomas A Walker.
• 1900 Build a trencher machine designed by Jubb from Manchester. Built on a 3 Ton Steam crane.

....

• 1978 taken over by the NEI group who owned a number of related engineering and construction machinery businesses, before the 1980s recession forced the closure or disposal of a number of them.

The company built a few truck mounted cranes based on chassis from Atkinson and AWD.

Model RangeEdit

• Smith 1/3 yd. (1930)
• Smith 1/2 Yd.
• Smith 1/4 Yd. (1934)
• Smith Tree-Twelve. (1935)
• Smith Four-Fourteen. (1935)
• Smith Five-Twenty. (1935)
• Smith Two-ten (1935)
• Smith Seven
• Smith No.8 (eight)
• Smith No.10 (super-ten)(1946)
• Smith No.12 (19?
• Smith No.14 (1960)
• Smith No.21 (1946)
• Smith No.26 (1960)
• Smith no.28 (1970)
• Smith No.40 (1968)
  • Smith E4000 Excavator
  • Smith C4046 crane
  • Smith C4050 crane
  • Smith Eurocrane 25C
• Smith Eurocrane 35C

PreservationEdit

A few examples of Smiths cranes and excavators are in preservation including;

• A Smith No. 8 (photo above) at the Vintage Excavator Trust museum in Cumbria.
• A Smith T10 ME of Buckley Crane Hire - VUG 175 on Atkinson chassis.(photo above)
• A Smith 14 crane parked at Andrew Beaulahs yard.
• Smith steam crane sn 9087/1917 ? as WD2528 at the Berlin Tecnical Museum
• Smith steam crane sn 9511/1920 ? 10T Capacity on 4+4 Wheel bogies Mexico City Museum
• Please add any other examples in preservation to this list

Template:PML Smith Rodley(link for future PML table)

See alsoEdit

• NCK
• Ransomes
• Ruston-Bucyrus
• Ransomes & Rapier

References / sourcesEdit

• Classic Plant & Machinery Magazine
• Cranes - An Illustrated History of, pub by Ian Allan

External linksEdit

• Interesting Dutch Fan site - note - In Dutch, (but some good pictures)