Rising out of the corn fields of southeastern Kansas, an engineering marvel towers over everything in the surrounding area, visible for several miles, and stands as a testament to the coal-mining history of the region.
The Bucyrus-Erie Model 1850B electric shovel, nicknamed Big Brutus, stands proudly against the skyline of the little town of West Mineral, Kansas. The largest of its kind, it stand 16 stories tall, weighing in at 5000 metric tons.
Nearly 50 meters long, the boom gives the machine most of its height, but the rest of it is equally impressive in scale. The dipper capacity is 68 cubic meters, enough to fill three train cars, and the body of the beast, larger than most houses. Surprisingly, the crew consisted of only three people.
Resting at the end of the last strip pit it dragged, the machine spent much of its life steadily working northeasterly from Oswego, dragging dirt from above coals seams in pit after pit. These pits are now filled with water and part of the Strip Pits State Wildlife Management Area, but very noticeable from the air on Google Maps.
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company contracted for the construction of this beast in 1962 at a cost of $6.5 million. Assembled on site, after delivery of parts transported to the location on 150 rail cars, the shovel ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from 1963, removing approximately one square mile of overburden annually. The machine operated until 1974, when it became simply too cost prohibitive to continue operations. A sign on the site proclaims the electric bill for just one day of operation, $27,000.
In 1985, Big Brutus was dedicated as a “Museum and Memorial Dedicated to the Rich Coal Mining History in Southeast Kansas” and two years later, recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) as a Regional Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark.
The site and museum host an array of other oddities related to mining in southeast Kansas, containing numerous artifacts and machinery used in mining operations. Inside the museum, visitors can view replicas of Big Brutus, and photos of it in operation, along with other coal shovels and mine works.
Only a short day trip from Kansas City, it is quite a site to see, and worth a visit for anyone interested in heavy machinery. Words cannot express the immensity of the machine. Indeed, the full impact of the enormity of this piece of machinery does not become fully apparent until one stands at the foot of the monster, or after having climbed around it and inside.
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