The farm jacks are still plenty available in 48" and 60" length. They ARE mechanical and require periodic lubrication. In the lowering setting, if less than 150# of weight is applied, the lifting mechanism will freefall, so hang onto the handle. They are intended for a straight lift and the beam WILL bend into a curve if side force is applied under load. I have two of them - one new and one from my grandfather, both still work.
Forgot about the free-fall bit, yeah, that was fun, too. I was referring to the fact that if you slip while operating the handle, it *will* fly upwards in an arc with tremendous force, making for some serious damage if you have something valuable in the path of that arc.
Wrap a chain around it as low as you can and use a jack. I've used old bumper jacks, a Jack-All (bumper jack on steroids) and even a hydraulic trolley jack with good results. A hydraulic bottle jack won't work well because of it's short stroke and it's tough to get a good bite on the chain.
H>i used a cable com-a-long hung from a frame made of a 2 x 4 up one side
Memories of standing a Ford 8N nearly straight up trying to pull some *very old* fence posts this way! Hydraulics had the power, but the front end was way too light.
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