• 21 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Bridge Crane

An overhead bridge crane in its bay, then a jib crane from the side.

Parts of a Bridge Crane

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Bridge girders
  2. Runway
  3. Columns
  4. End trucks
  5. Trolley
  6. Hoist
  7. Drum
  8. Wire rope
  9. Load block
  10. Hook
  11. Pendant control
  12. Festoon
  13. End stops
  14. Bumpers
  15. Conductor bar
  16. Bridge drive
  17. Boom
  18. Mast
  19. Base plate
  20. Anchor bolts
  21. Rotation stops

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: a mobile crane and a tower crane

All 21 parts on the diagram

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Bridge crane 16

  1. Bridge girders The main beams of the bridge. They span the bay and carry the trolley.
  2. Runway The fixed beams and rails along each side of the bay. The whole crane travels on them.
  3. Columns The upright posts that carry the runways.
  4. End trucks A frame with wheels under each end of the bridge. They roll along the runway rails.
  5. Trolley It travels across the bridge and carries the hoist.
  6. Hoist The machine that does the lifting and lowering.
  7. Drum The cylinder the ropes wind round to raise or lower the load.
  8. Wire rope The hoisting rope, running from the drum down to the load block.
  9. Load block The assembly that hangs from the rope and carries the hook. Also called the hook block or bottom block.
  10. Hook The load is hung on it.
  11. Pendant control A push-button station on a cable. An operator on the floor works it.
  12. Festoon Cable hung in loops that slide along the bridge. The power can then follow the trolley.
  13. End stops They limit how far the bridge or the trolley can travel.
  14. Bumpers Soften the impact when the crane reaches the end of its travel.
  15. Conductor bar It runs along the runway and supplies electric power to the crane.
  16. Bridge drive The drive that moves the whole bridge along the runways.

Jib crane 5

  1. Boom The arm of a jib crane. It swings round the mast and carries the trolley.
  2. Mast The upright column the boom turns on.
  3. Base plate The plate at the foot of the mast. It is bolted down to the floor.
  4. Anchor bolts They hold the base plate down to its footing.
  5. Rotation stops Blocks at the top of the mast. They limit how far the boom can swing.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where at least two of these use it. (1) 29 CFR 1910.179, Overhead and gantry cranes, definitions, read at https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.179 : bridge (girders, trucks, drive mechanism), runway (rails, beams), trolley, hoist, drum, rope, load block, hook, bumper, stop, runway conductors, pendant. (2) US Department of Energy standard DOE-STD-1090-2007, Hoisting and Rigging, full text at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5751313 : bridge girder, bridge drive, runway rails, trolley, drum, load block, bumper, trolley stops, festoon system, pendant push-button station, conductors, and the jib crane as a column with an arm that carries the hoist trolley. (3) A crane maker's bridge crane manual, archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/20150131073646/http://www.spanco.com/files/downloads-spanco/FS_BC_Manual_103-0045.pdf : support columns, runway, bridge, end truck, hoist trolley, end stops. (4) A second maker's free-standing crane manual, archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/20230423082146/https://www.gorbel.com/docs/default-source/installation-maintenance-manuals/al-fs.pdf : columns, runways, bridge, end truck, trolley, hoist, festooning, end stops, bumper, conductor bar. (5) The first maker's jib crane manual, archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/20160418180159/http://www.spanco.com/files/downloads-spanco/100_Series_Jib_Manual_103-0005.pdf : mast, boom, base plate, anchor bolts, rotation stops, trolley, end stop. (6) The second maker's free-standing jib crane manual, archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/20230423082318/https://www.gorbel.com/docs/default-source/installation-maintenance-manuals/fs-jib.pdf : mast, boom, base plate, anchor bolts, rotation stops, trolley, end stops, hoist. (7) Wikipedia, Overhead crane, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overhead_crane : an overhead crane is commonly called a bridge crane; rails on beams fixed to columns, a bridge of one or two girders, a hoist travelling on it. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's drawing, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A bridge crane, also called an overhead crane, drawn in its building bay with the runways running away from you. The second drawing is a free-standing jib crane from the side.

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Three ways the hook moves

The runways are fixed along each side of the bay, on columns. The bridge girders span between them on two end trucks, which roll along the runway rails. The trolley travels across the bridge and carries the hoist, whose drum winds the wire rope to raise the load block and hook.

Power, control and stops

A conductor bar along the runway feeds the crane, and the festoon carries power along the bridge to the trolley. The operator works the pendant control from the floor. End stops limit travel and bumpers soften the contact. On the jib crane, the boom swings round the mast between the rotation stops.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of an overhead crane called?

The runways on their columns, the bridge girders, the two end trucks, the trolley, the hoist with its drum and wire rope, the load block and hook, plus the festoon, the pendant control, the conductor bar, the end stops and the bumpers.

What are the parts of a jib crane?

A base plate held down by anchor bolts, an upright mast, and a boom that swings round the top of the mast. The boom carries a trolley and hoist, with end stops on the boom and rotation stops at the mast.

Is a bridge crane the same as an overhead crane?

Yes. Overhead crane is the name used in the US workplace safety rule; bridge crane is the everyday name, after the bridge that spans the bay and carries the hoist.

What is the difference between the bridge and the trolley?

The bridge moves along the runways, the length of the bay. The trolley moves across the bridge, from one side of the bay to the other.

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