“I didn’t ask to be built a crane” is something Spitzer might say if he wasn’t so sarcastic. He often complains that he is overworked and under-appreciated, and his cynical airs make it hard to get to know him.
Spitzer was named after the Spitzer Infrared Space Telescope. Like Cranky, he can be rebuilt and moved to various places. His location is often dictated by needs of the Little Western Extension Project, as many of the Island’s most prominent businesses have played a part. The project leader, the cool and collected Avon Sharpe, is the one who decides where Spitzer has to go next.
His first destination was the transfer yards, where Spitzer became acquainted with all of the narrow gauge engines. While he did lift and load a great deal of cargo, he did not make a great impression. A few of the engines tried to win him over, (using a few different approaches) but none had succeeded. It might have been better if they had, because his next destination was the Smelters.
The Smelters certainly has a degree of warmth to it, but not the kind most would appreciate. Spitzer was even more unhappy during his time there, as Arry and Bert would constantly deride him in such a way where even his quick wit held no ground. The smelters, sadly, is a demoralizing place in general, because it is a place where engines have been known to meet their end.
Spitzer, like his namesake, has seen quite a lot, but he also claims that he can sleep through anything. It’s unclear whether or not he witnessed Patriot’s murder at the buffers of Arry and Bert (and the hands of Sir Frederick Aura) during the events of “Grim Messengers of Doom.” If he was actually awake, it could make him a loose end in Aura’s schemes.
His next move was back to the narrow gauge railway at Ember Gorge (another fiery destination for those that remember!) It wasn’t until he met young Ivo Hugh that he ever articulated what brings him joy. The sky. Spitzer loves to look up the sky, a single joy he was most certainly deprived of at the smelters.
While the incident with the pigeon hunters (and the fireworks display that followed!) was completely unintentional, Ivo Hugh is the only one that has ever won over Spitzer. Time will tell if that unlikely bond will help the jaded crane open up.
Trivia: Spitzer the Crane had a model clay face originally sculpted by EE93. He now has an updated face created by Heisel Productions.