And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Bucyrus Erie 1300 Walking Dragline, Knob Mine, a former coal mine west of Warrior, Alabama, USA
Interesting the company was so flush they couldn't be bothered to break it up and sell it for scrap. The Simco Peabody Bucyrus Erie built Coal Chief is the one that ruined my family farm in Ohio. Of course, this photo shows nicely reclaimed land. Our farm was raped before the enlightened elites mandated reclamation so SimCity did what they did all over southern Ohio. There's thousands of acres of high banks, spoil banks, scrub, locusts trees dying of blight, mine ponds full of mud, frogs, and mosquitoes, spoiled streams, spoiled wells, ruined forests, formerly good fields that are now swamps, and on and on. That's fine. That's our assigned lot. Scum under the feet of politicians and business, fodder for their wars and deep mines.
As the signs used to say, "Coal keeps the lights on." All ponds are full of mud, frogs, and mosquitoes. Farming also ruins forests, as do cities. Why did your family sell their mineral rights? What has mining 50 years ago got to do with blight now?
Back in the day I remember being told that about 25% of the streams in PA were tainted by mine run-off. We played around on an old strip mine. Now I see them taking the tops off of hills in WV - ruins a lot of countryside.
I saw "Big Muskie" at AEP's strip mine in Morgan County, Ohio before they broke it up. One guy wanted to buy, not knowing what it would take to restore it. AEP scrapped it and put the bucket at one of their small parks as a Miner's Memorial.
AEP sold the two walking draglines they had there. It took 27 trucks to move the parts.
At one time, the chief competitor to Bucyrus (now Catepillar) was the Marion dragline company, less than 25 miles away, both in NE Ohio.
In 1973, the Hanna Coal Co. moved two draglines, the Mountaineer and the 46-A across I-70 in eastern Ohio. They shut down the interstate for a whole day. It turned out the State of Ohio did not own the land under the highway; they just has an easement. Hanna owned the land.
When I graduated from high school, I went to work on a high rise out on Tierra Verde Island near St. Pete.....they were using flying forms and they bought a Bucyrus Erie crane that could reach 21 stories from the ground...quite a sight in 1968....
Check out Big Brutus in West Mineral, KS sometime. Was the biggest when it was working. Finally stopped because of expense in the early 1970s. It is one big puppy.
Sometimes, these machines dig a hole big enough to bury themselves in. They were rarely scrapped. An acquaintance worked as a welder for 2-1/2 years putting one together. Scrapping didn't make economic sense. See Big Hog, Peabody Coal Company shovel in Western Kentucky.
Many tons of fine steel sitting there turning to rust.
ReplyDeleteSeen that in person, stopped on the road and walked out to the dragline and looked it over and climbed up on it.
ReplyDeleteI found it on Google Earth after I first saw the picture of it a couple of years ago. It wasn't hard to do. Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb.
DeleteInteresting the company was so flush they couldn't be bothered to break it up and sell it for scrap. The Simco Peabody Bucyrus Erie built Coal Chief is the one that ruined my family farm in Ohio. Of course, this photo shows nicely reclaimed land. Our farm was raped before the enlightened elites mandated reclamation so SimCity did what they did all over southern Ohio. There's thousands of acres of high banks, spoil banks, scrub, locusts trees dying of blight, mine ponds full of mud, frogs, and mosquitoes, spoiled streams, spoiled wells, ruined forests, formerly good fields that are now swamps, and on and on. That's fine. That's our assigned lot. Scum under the feet of politicians and business, fodder for their wars and deep mines.
ReplyDeleteAs the signs used to say, "Coal keeps the lights on."
DeleteAll ponds are full of mud, frogs, and mosquitoes.
Farming also ruins forests, as do cities.
Why did your family sell their mineral rights?
What has mining 50 years ago got to do with blight now?
What's to keep someone from reclaiming the land now if it's so valuable? Seems like a good business opportunity.
DeleteBack in the day I remember being told that about 25% of the streams in PA were tainted by mine run-off. We played around on an old strip mine. Now I see them taking the tops off of hills in WV - ruins a lot of countryside.
DeleteI used to live in Bucyrus, OH, where these machines were developed.
ReplyDeleteI saw "Big Muskie" at AEP's strip mine in Morgan County, Ohio before they broke it up. One guy wanted to buy, not knowing what it would take to restore it. AEP scrapped it and put the bucket at one of their small parks as a Miner's Memorial.
ReplyDeleteAEP sold the two walking draglines they had there. It took 27 trucks to move the parts.
At one time, the chief competitor to Bucyrus (now Catepillar) was the Marion dragline company, less than 25 miles away, both in NE Ohio.
ReplyDeleteIn 1973, the Hanna Coal Co. moved two draglines, the Mountaineer and the 46-A across I-70 in eastern Ohio. They shut down the interstate for a whole day. It turned out the State of Ohio did not own the land under the highway; they just has an easement. Hanna owned the land.
When I graduated from high school, I went to work on a high rise out on Tierra Verde Island near St. Pete.....they were using flying forms and they bought a Bucyrus Erie crane that could reach 21 stories from the ground...quite a sight in 1968....
ReplyDeleteCheck out Big Brutus in West Mineral, KS sometime. Was the biggest when it was working. Finally stopped because of expense in the early 1970s. It is one big puppy.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, these machines dig a hole big enough to bury themselves in. They were rarely scrapped. An acquaintance worked as a welder for 2-1/2 years putting one together. Scrapping didn't make economic sense. See Big Hog, Peabody Coal Company shovel in Western Kentucky.
ReplyDelete