FOR more than a hundred years it has been an indestructible symbol of the Clyde's shipbuilding past. For thirty years it lay neglected and unused, but today the restored Titan crane is back in business.

TIMESFILE The order for the Titan crane was placed in 1905 with Sir William Arrol & Co Ltd, Glasgow's world-class firm of engineers Arrol designed and built it at a cost of £26,400. It had a lifting capacity of 150 tons. The foundations - built at a cost of £6419 - consisted of four steel cylinders, 10ft in diameter and sunk to some 75ft beneath the quay. Titan came into operation on April 24, 1907, and helped build an impressive portfolio of ships. advertisement Key launches included HMS Repulse (1916), HMS Hood (1918) the Empress of Britain (1931) and the Queen Mary (1934). The Queen Elizabeth was completed in 1940. In 1937/8 Titan's lifting capacity was increased to 200 tons. QE2 was launched in 1967. John Brown's became part of UCS in 1968. UCS went into liquidation in 1971 and the yard launched its final ship without ceremony. The yard was bought by Marathon Shipbuilding in 1972, and in 1980 by UiE Shipbuilding. It was put up for sale in 1999. In 2002 the yard and engine works were demolished to make way for new developments. One of Titan's surviving sister' cranes is at Stobcross Quay, Finnieston. There are plans to create a 100-cover restaurant, 200-capacity bar and a function suite over three or four floors.

The 150ft giant that has stood constant over the changing face of Glasgow's Clydeside has now become Scotland's most unusual heritage visitor attraction.

A £3million, two-year-long refit has seen the A-listed cantilever crane, the oldest of its kind in the world, become the country's latest must-see.

Visitors can take a newly-built lift - or, if they're up to it, the 240-step internal circular stairway - to the top and marvel at the remarkable views of Clydebank, Glasgow and beyond.

The crane once stood above the John Brown yard where some of the world's most famous ships were built.

Today Titan is virtually all that remains of the historic yard but the revamp is set to bring memories to life.

And someone who will be able to give visitors insider knowledge is Alan Adams, who was once a welder at the yard and is now returning as a Titan guide.

"It was an incredibly busy place," said Alan, 58. "The transformation of the crane is little short of fantastic."

Today screens will allow visitors to watch digital animations of the launches of the Queen Mary, in September 1934, and the QE2, in September 1967, both built at the John Brown yard.

Information panels at the foot of the crane and in the wheelhouse above tell the story of the yard and of Titan itself which even withstood the devastating Clydebank Blitz of March 1941.

Communities minister Stewart Maxwell today opened Titan with the release of 1000 balloons, each containing a free ticket to the crane.

The restoration has been carried out by Clydebank Re-built, the town's urban regeneration company.

Managing director Eleanor McAllister said: "The Titan is the last relic of the industrial heritage on the river at Clydebank. It is the very core of the riverside regeneration of the area."

l Titan is open to the public on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, from 10am to 5pm, until October. Tickets are £4.50/£3 or £12 for a family. Go to www.titanclydebank.

com for more information or telephone 0141 952 3771.

Workers on the Titan have already experienced the amazing views from the top of the crane . . . and if visitors want to look further afield, right, there's even a giant compass marking places all over the world. The crane towered over the Queen Mary as she sat in the fitting out basin in 1938 and another picture from the new exhibition shows the crew of workers who built the crane