Big Brutus

Big Brutus
Big Brutus in 2014
Class overview
NameBig Brutus (1963-Present)
BuildersBucyrus-Erie
Operators United States
Succeeded byModel 1950-B-series Electric power shovel
CostUS$6.5 million (1987) [1]
In service1963-1974
Planned1
Completed1
Preserved1
History
United States
NameBig Brutus
BuilderBucyrus-Erie
Launched1962[1]
ChristenedMay 1963
CommissionedMay 1963
Fate
  • Retired in 1974
  • Preserved in 1987
NotesLargest power shovel preserved
General characteristics
Class and typeModel 1850-B-series Electric power shovel
Tonnage4,200 t (9,260,000 lb) + 770 t (1,700,000 lb) ballast when operational
Length
  • 24.2 m (79 ft) (house) + 45.72 m (150 ft) (max boom length)[2]
  • Total: 69.92 m (229 ft)
Beam18 m (59 ft)
Height48.8 m (160 ft) (to tip of boom)
Installed power
  • 2 x 2.57 MW (3,500 hp) electric motors + external power substation[1]
  • Total: ≥5.5 MW (7,500 hp) standard or ≥11 MW (15,000 hp) peak
Propulsion8 x caterpillar tracks
Speed0.22 mph (19 ft/min) (5.8m/min) max
CapacityBlade capacity: 90 cubic yards (68.8 m3) or 150 short tons (140 t)
Complement3[1]
Big Brutus
Built1963
NRHP reference No.100001945
Added to NRHPJanuary 5, 2018
Note cars by track for scale

Big Brutus is the nickname of the Bucyrus-Erie model 1850-B electric shovel, which was the second largest of its type in operation in the 1960s and 1970s. Big Brutus is the centerpiece of a mining museum in West Mineral, Kansas, United States, 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)[1] down to unearth relatively shallow coal seams, which would then be mined with smaller equipment.

  1. ^ a b c d e "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-03. Retrieved 2010-03-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Big Brutus". October 4, 2022.