Repair facility for overhead crane

Claim 1

A repair facility for an overhead crane that normally rides on an overhead railway, said overhead railway and crane arrangement comprising a pair of longitudinally extending parallel rails mounted overhead on a plurality of spaced vertical columns and at least two traveling cranes riding on the rails of said railway for longitudinal travel thereon, said repair facility comprising: a crane repair bay located directly below the overhead railway, said repair bay having a pair of parallel rail sections which comprise a repair bay railway spur that is adapted to receive one of said traveling cranes, another of said traveling cranes being positioned on the overhead railway directly over said repair bay in position to facilitate the repair of the traveling crane in said repair bay, by hoisting portions of the one crane when necessary, a vertically movable crane elevator section of the overhead railway that normally comprises an integral part of said overhead railway, said crane elevator section being adapted to receive and transport one of said traveling cranes from the level of the overhead railway to the level of the repair bay railway spur and to return the crane to the level of the overhead railway, the rails of the crane elevator section being maintained in alignment with the overhead railway when the crane elevator section is moved to the level of the overhead railway and said rails being maintained in alignment with the repair bay railway spur wheN said crane elevator section is moved to the level of the repair bay, and lift means for moving the crane elevator section vertically from the level of the overhead railway to the level of the repair bay railway spur and return.