Overburden Conveyor Bridge F60

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Overburden Conveyor Bridge F60

Panorama of the F60 in the Jänschwalde mine.
Class overview
Name	Overburden Conveyor Bridge F60
Builders	Volkseigener Betrieb TAKRAF
Operators	East Germany (former)  Germany
In service	1969-1991
Completed	5
Active	4
Laid up	5
Preserved	1
History
Germany
Builder	Volkseigener Betrieb TAKRAF, Lusatia: Jänschwalde Welzow-Süd Lichterfeld-Schacksdorf Nochten and Reichwalde
Laid down	1969-1988
Launched	1972-1991
Fate	One F60 was retired and recommissioned as a museum piece in Lichterfeld-Schacksdorf
Notes	Largest vehicle by physical dimensions ever built Second largest ground vehicle ever built
General characteristics
Class and type	F60-series Overburden conveyor bridge
Tonnage	13,600 t (30,000,000 lb)
Length	502 m (1,647 ft)
Beam	241 m (790 ft)
Height	79 m (260 ft)
Installed power	2 x 1,342.26 kW (1,800 hp) Siemens Type 1DM6536-4AA14-Z powered electric motors[1] 1 x 24.4 MW (32,721 hp) external coal power plant[1] Total: 27 MW (35,000 hp) including BCEs
Propulsion	Propulsion: 2 x rails, 2x bogies (total of 760 wheels) Wheelbase: 56 in (1,435 mm)
Speed	13 m/min (0.78 km/h)
Range	6 km (3.7 mi)[1]
Complement	14

F60 is the series designation of five overburden conveyor bridges used in brown coal (lignite) opencast mining in the Lusatian coalfields in Germany. They were built by the former Volkseigener Betrieb TAKRAF in Lauchhammer and are the largest movable technical industrial machines in the world. As overburden conveyor bridges, they transport the overburden which lies over the coal seam. The cutting height is 60 m (200 ft), hence the name F60. In total, the F60 is up to 80 m (260 ft) high and 240 m (790 ft) wide; with a length of 502 m (1,647 ft), it is described as the lying Eiffel Tower,^[2] making these behemoths not only the longest vehicle ever made—beating Prelude FLNG, the longest ship—but the largest vehicle by physical dimensions ever made by humankind. In operating condition, it weighs 13,600 metric tons making the F60 also one of the heaviest land vehicles ever made, beaten only by Bagger 293, which is a giant bucket-wheel excavator. Nevertheless, despite its immense size, it is operated by only a crew of 14.^[1]

The first conveyor bridge was built from 1969 to 1972, being equipped with a feeder bridge in 1977. The second was built from 1972 to 1974, having been equipped with a feeder bridge during construction. The third conveyor bridge was built from 1976 to 1978, being provided with a feeder bridge in 1985. The fourth and fifth conveyor bridges were built 1986–1988 and 1988–1991 respectively.

There are still four F60s in operation in the Lusatian coalfields today:^[when?] in the brown coal opencast mines in Jänschwalde (Brandenburg, near Jänschwalde Power Station), Welzow-Süd (Brandenburg, near Schwarze Pumpe Power Station), Nochten and Reichwalde (Saxony, both near Boxberg Power Station). The fifth F60, the last one built, is in Lichterfeld-Schacksdorf and is accessible to visitors.