What the heck is a dragline, and how do they work? We’ve got the answers!
We’re back with North American Coal to tour one of their massive draglines. These machines are the largest earthmovers in America, capable of moving well over 100,000 cubic yards of material per day.
Using steel cables, they drag monster buckets through the earth, filling them in seconds. Then, they unload by tipping the bucket as they swing, flinging the dirt into huge piles.
Without these machines, millions of Americans would be without power!
Damned interesting. Awesome machine.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to have that guys job.
ReplyDeleteBuilt a drag line bucket in salt lake city. Couldn’t weld the rope hoist on the arch because it would have been too tall to make the trip along I-80. Followed it to the mine and welded them on there. Took 2 weeks just to weld those on. 2 shifts, 2 men per shift working 12 hour days.
ReplyDeleteNear Kosse, Texas, off Hwy 7, there's a strip mine and a huge dragline working. It's something to see, and after talking to some mechanics a few years ago, destined to be abandoned in place in the future.
ReplyDeleteAlong with Mike Mulligan…
DeleteDrummond coal had at least 4 of them that size up until the 90s. Miss elza, ol Tobe, ol Tobe 2 an Mr Tom. Mr Tom sat from 1995 until they started refurbishing it in 2007. They walked it 17 miles to a new site and are still using.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me. I some dirt for my flower beds.
ReplyDeleteI worked with a guy that had a small drag line that he ran as a second job. He used it to muck out ponds and he kept as busy as he cared to with it.
ReplyDeleteSmall drag lines were as scarce as hen's teeth even back then, so his machine definitely filled a niche.
I'm currently running two draglines in my pits, along with two P&H 4100XPC shovels and two 4100A shovels. Moving over 100k cubic yards of dirt a day per dragline and XPCs.
ReplyDeleteWe move about 450k yds of dirt and about 80,000 tons of coal a day. And that's just in my pits, there are 6 others.
Resource extraction. It's a beautiful thing.
DeleteGod Bless America.
Sincerely, Elmo the Logger.
My dad had a the fuel contract for years when they were digging a canal in the 70s. Got to sit in the cabs while he was refueling them which was pretty cool for a kid.
ReplyDelete40yrs. of operation!! No...they don't build 'em like that anymore.
ReplyDelete