Was Big Brutus electric?

Big Brutus is the world's largest electric shovel. It stands 16 stories high amid the fields of rural southeast Kansas. The coal strip mine it helped clear of rock and dirt has long been shut down, and Brutus has been turned into a museum.

How much electricity did Big Brutus use?

Although designed to last a quarter of a century, the big shovel was used for only a decade. The coal in the area had been depleted, and coal prices made digging what was left unprofitable, since it required 6,900 volts of electricity just to start Big Brutus. By 1973 the shovel was obsolete.

How much is Big Brutus worth?

Technically a Bucyrus-Erie Model 1850B electric dragline shovel, Big Brutus was built in 1962 (at a cost of $6.5 million, or about $51.6 million in today's dollars) for the Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company's strip-mining operation in West Mineral, Kansas.

Is Big Brutus an excavator?

Big Brutus is the centerpiece of a mining museum in West Mineral, Kansas where it was used in coal strip mining operations. The shovel was designed to dig from 20 to 69 feet (6.1 to 21.0 m) down to unearth relatively shallow coal seams, which would themselves be mined with smaller equipment.

How was Big Brutus powered?

Big Brutus´ motive power was provided by two 3,500 horsepower electric motors. Power for the machine was pro- vided from an Empire District Electric Company substation.

What it's like Inside BIG BRUTUS

What is the biggest electric shovel?

Big Brutus is the world's largest electric shovel. It stands 16 stories high amid the fields of rural southeast Kansas. The coal strip mine it helped clear of rock and dirt has long been shut down, and Brutus has been turned into a museum. You can see it on the horizon from miles away.

Why was Big Muskie scrapped?

Increased EPA scrutiny and a rapid drop in demand for high sulfur coal following the passage of the 1977 Clean Air Act, coupled with regular yearly increases in electricity costs and continued public opposition to strip mining operations in Ohio, eventually made Big Muskie unprofitable to operate, and it was removed ...

What is the biggest dragline in the world?

Big Musky holds the record of being the largest dragline in the world, and its size and scope was on par with the largest bucket excavator record-holder, the Bagger 288!

What is the biggest mining machine?

The world's largest mining machine is the Bagger 293 bucket wheel excavator. This piece of machinery, which looks straight out of a Transformers movie, is seriously frightening. Thank god it doesn't have legs! At 3 4.9 feet tall, 738.2 feet long and weighing roughly 31.3 million pounds, the 293 is beyond massive.

Is Big Brutus still operational?

In April 1974, Big Brutus dug himself out of his last pit, approximately 65 feet deep, and ceased operation. In 1984, P&M deeded Big Brutus to be used as a museum dedicated to the coal mining industry. Now visitors can sit in the operator's seat of Big Brutus and see the levers and dials that manipulated this giant.

Where is the silver spade now?

The Silver Spade is removing overburden for CONSOL Energy (formerly Consolidation Coal Co.) at its only surface coal mine, located in Mahoning Valley in eastern Ohio, near Cadiz.

Who built Big Brutus?

Built by the Bucyrus Erie Company, this shovel began its active service May 1963 at Pittsburg and Midway Mine 19, where it received its name of Big Brutus from the superintendent Emil Sandeen.

What is a steam shovel now called?

Although these big machines are still called steam shovels, they are more correctly known as power shovels since they use electricity to power their winches.

Can you climb Big Brutus?

Visitors can go inside and climb five stories to the innards of Brutus (Until 2004 they could climb through the open air to the top of the shovel boom, but this access was discontinued by Brutus's insurance company).

What happened to the silver spade shovel?

Its sole function was to remove the earth and rock overburden from the coal seam. Attempts to purchase and preserve the shovel from Consol to make it the centerpiece of a mining museum exhibit for $2.6 million fell short, and the shovel was dismantled in February 2007.

Do they still make draglines?

Cat® Draglines are a primary excavating tool in many surface mining operations worldwide. They're highly productive and offer the lowest material cost per tonne in the industry.

What is the largest dragline working in North America?

The Ursa Major (lit. Great Bear) at Black Thunder Coal Mine, Wyoming, is the largest dragline excavator currently in use in North America and the third largest ever built.

How much is a dragline worth?

A large dragline system used in the open pit mining industry costs approximately US$50–100 million.

Is Big Muskie still in operation?

Shut down in 1991, “Big Muskie” was finally dismantled for scrap in 1999. The only component saved was the bucket, which was later incorporated into a display about the machine and surface mining and reclamation in Miners Memorial Park in McConnelsville, Ohio.

How did they move the Big Muskie bucket?

It took a team of engineers more than two years to erect Big Muskie. When completed, the massive machine stood 240-feet tall. The behemoth digger worked by dragging its bucket along the ground to strip away layers of soil and rock that covered high-sulfur coal.

Where was the Big Muskie built?

The Big Muskie cost $25 million to fabricate in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin and ship to Ohio where it was erected on-site. It took 340 rail cars and 260 trucks to ship all of the components, and 200,000 man-hours to erect.

Where is the gem of Egypt?

GEM of Egypt was a coal mining shovel near Barnesville, Ohio. The GEM are always capitalized, standing for Giant Earthmoving Machine.

How big was the bucket on the GEM of Egypt?

Operational history. The GEM had a 170' boom and a 130 cubic yard bucket which enabled it to dig roughly 200 tons per 'bite'. The machine began work in January, 1967 for Hanna Coal, and was later purchased by Consolidated Coal in "Little Egypt Valley" near Barnesville, Ohio. The area was also where the GEM got its name ...

Where is the captain shovel?

The Marion 6360 stripping shovel known as “the Captain” was the flagship machine at the vast Captain mine complex near Cutler, Illinois. When originally put to work in 1965 by Southwestern Illinois Coal Corp., the machine made headlines with the technical press around the world.