# Dragline Excavators - too big to move **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989 "2010-06-29T21:54:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/1 "2010-06-29T21:54:43Z")
Wife and I were taking a scenic drive over in Eastern Oklahoma (the green hilly part) and we came across two of these huge excavators. Just sitting out in the land. I know of one other completely divorced from the existing road network. Didn’t have the camera for a picture but Wikipedia has some for reference. They are located near Red Oak, OK. (google maps) +34 deg, 59’, 22.82", -95 deg, 3’, 5.44" 34.98671, -95051512 +34 deg, 56’, 54.59", -95 deg, 6’, 20.12" 34.948498, -95105590 They haven’t moved in a looong time. This is an area that once had substantial coal mining so the excavators were probably removing overburden. You couldn’t put one on a road; compare the satellite view with the road width. They are truely massive. The main part (not boom) dwarfs nearby houses in length, width, and probably quadruple the height. Railroads are near or once existed. They must have been brought in pieces and assembled at the locations. Are they too big to move or not worth the scrap value to recover in some manner? ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/2 "2010-06-29T22:22:20Z")
I don’t have an answer but I think you need a decimal in your longitude, there. “-95.051512” Hey, if you use Google Earth’s time line thingy, you can go to the 1995 photograph and see the excavator is over in a different place. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/3 "2010-06-29T22:25:34Z")
They have to be moved in parts…lots and lots of parts. I want to say they take something like two months to assemble. It could be that once they are done with them they just leave them where they stand until the company needs it somewhere else or another mining company buys it and has it moved. NETA, they make the biggest ones a few miles from my house, it’s always neat to see GIANT buckets, gears, cabs etc going by on a flatbed. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/4 "2010-06-30T11:25:50Z")
Yes, they’re built on site, more like houses than cars. Though, bucket wheel excavators in Germany sometimes get moved across roads (not along them). I saw a documentary in which two of these things were passing one another on moves at night, with people hanging around to watch in a pleasant party atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/5 "2010-06-30T11:43:58Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > They have to be moved in parts…lots and lots of parts. I want to say they take something like two months to assemble. This. In reverse. To dismantle it so it can be hauled away for scrap would require man-hours of skilled labor and machine-hours of heavy-equipment use. Unlike a dead car that can be dragged up onto a flatbed and hauled away in minutes, it would be a huge and risky (and most importantly, expensive) undertaking to disassemble such a big machine. Cheaper to leave it be until/unless it absolutely has to be moved. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/6 "2010-06-30T11:47:18Z")
All of the above, and even if you moved it, where are you going to put it? It has to sit on someone’s property somewhere. Abandon in place. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/7 "2010-06-30T14:57:20Z")
Thanks all. What or where is this timeline thingy. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/8 "2010-06-30T15:21:39Z")
> [@campp](#): > > All of the above, and even if you moved it, where are you going to put it? It has to sit on someone’s property somewhere. > > Abandon in place. The “where?” would be somewhere they need an excavator. I wonder, is it cheaper to build and assemble a new one than to dissassemble then reassemble an old one? ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/9 "2010-06-30T16:08:44Z")
Also consider that nearly all (in fact ALL that I am aware of) of this scale machines are electrically powered, and use enough to supply a small town. Many have walking feet or tracks, but have to drag a huge power umbilical behind them, and that umbilical attaches to what amounts to a small substation. Thus powering them during a move might require following them with a large generator, or multiple connection points along the way. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/10 "2010-06-30T16:21:08Z")
I have seen pictures of these machines, abandoned in Alaska (they were used to mine gold). I guess it was just too expensive to move them, once the gold was all gone. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/11 "2010-06-30T16:23:41Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Also consider that nearly all (in fact ALL that I am aware of) of this scale machines are electrically powered, and use enough to supply a small town. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that on any of these giant machines. I don’t know if you have real world experience, in which case you would know more then me, but everything I’ve seen on Modern Marvels and those types of shows are powered by on board diesel engines. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/12 "2010-06-30T17:03:27Z")
From: > **[Dragline excavator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragline_excavator)** > > A dragline excavator is a piece of heavy equipment used in civil engineering and surface mining. > Draglines fall into two broad categories: those that are based on standard, lifting cranes, and the heavy units which have to be built on-site. Most crawler cranes, with an added winch drum on the front, can act as a dragline. These units (like other cranes) are designed to be dismantled and transported over the road on flatbed trailers. Draglines used in civil engineering are almost always of this... " In 1912 Bucyrus helped pioneer the use of electricity as a power source for large stripping shovels and draglines used in mining." From: > **[The Big Muskie - Remembering the walking giant](http://www.little-mountain.com/bigmuskie/)** > > Dedicated to the preservation of the Big Muskie. “She is a big girl. Her name is Big Muskie and she is the biggest machine that has ever walked on the face of the earth. The Big Muskie is a giant electric-powered Bucyrus-Erie dragline owned by the Central Ohio Coal Company, a division of American Electric Power.” "Electrically powered: 13,800 volts ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/13 "2010-06-30T17:24:28Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > From: > [Dragline excavator - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragline_excavator) > > " In 1912 Bucyrus helped pioneer the use of electricity as a power source for large stripping shovels and draglines used in mining." > > From: > [The Big Muskie - Remembering the walking giant](http://www.little-mountain.com/bigmuskie/) > > “She is a big girl. Her name is Big Muskie and she is the biggest machine that has ever walked on the face of the earth. The Big Muskie is a giant electric-powered Bucyrus-Erie dragline owned by the Central Ohio Coal Company, a division of American Electric Power.” > > "Electrically powered: 13,800 volts I was always under the impression that while they were electrically powered, they were electrically powered by generators driven by diesel engines…all on board. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’ve just never seen machines connected to an external power supply. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/14 "2010-06-30T19:39:53Z")
I got a tour of one of these things under construction a few years back. They are indeed fed by electrical power from a nearby substation. The power runs AC motors that in turn run DC generators to supply DC motors. IMHO, it would be a pain in the ass to continually refuel one of these monsters in the field. Electricity is easier to transport. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Medlo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hi\_Medlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Medlo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/15 "2010-06-30T20:02:36Z")
I worked around large surface mining shovels like the Silver Spade for many years. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/caTFC16M5tM/hqdefault.jpg "The Silver Spade - Last Day of Operation") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caTFC16M5tM) They’re not as large as the largest draglines but they’re still huge. They are electrically powered off the grid and getting power to them is a big undertaking, with substations moved from time to time to keep up with them. They’re built on site and spend many years in the same general area, mining their way through property acquired by the company. It’s an expensive proposition to move one any distance to get to a new site. Crossing a highway is a major undertaking. When their service life is over (the Spade worked from about 1963 til just a few years ago) they are dismantled for scrap. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Medlo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hi\_Medlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Medlo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/16 "2010-06-30T20:05:22Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bcHxmIejqt0/hqdefault.jpg "THE SILVER SPADE IN 2005") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcHxmIejqt0) Another video to give some idea of the size…the tip of the boom is over 200 feet above the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/17 "2010-06-30T21:39:07Z")
I got interested in walking draglines and similar big machines and all the ones I know of run on huge extension cords. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/18 "2010-07-01T01:35:21Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > What or where is this timeline thingy. Do you have Google Earth? Open it and put your coordinates(34.98671, -95.051512) in the upper left-hand navigation box. Then click the magnifying glass (search). It will take you to the excavator location. Pan out a bit until you can see a north-south road on the left of your view, labeled N4470 Rd. Now, up in the header of Google Earth is a little clock icon. Click on that and it brings up a sliding timeline. You can move the pointer up and down the timeline to different years for which Google has photograpy. Put it on 1995, for example. In that year the excavator was just to the left of that road, N4470 Rd. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/19 "2010-07-01T17:26:34Z")
My daughter’s ex-fiancée is an engineer who travels the world dismantling, transporting and reassembling dragline excavators. Each job can take a couple of years. (he doesn’t do it on his own, he heads a large crew). ---
**Author:** ![JoeH2O](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@JoeH2O](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeH2O)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragline-excavators-too-big-to-move/544989/20 "2010-07-01T20:25:52Z")
You think that bad boy is big - the Bagger 288 is a monster. It was moved, just the once, and it was a colossal undertaking. [http://www.oto6.free.fr/6roues/6rouesatvbagger.htm](http://www.oto6.free.fr/6roues/6rouesatvbagger.htm)