The Dragline!
Some dragline memories from the past..
Local draglines that I have known.

Pictured below are four draglines that worked in this area for at least ten years. First is a Page 752, then the big Marion 8800, then the smaller BE 1260 that worked at River Queen Mine, and last a BE 1260 that worked at Sinclair Mine.

(1.)The Page 752 dragline has a long history of dependable service, but they do wear out and then most go to the salvage yard to either rust or to be cut up for salvage. The Page 752 SN #337 and two other Page 752's were brought out of the salvage yard and restored, even made better then when first built. The main structure is subject to a lot of stress and the first part of the refurbish was to reinforce the main structure. This included replacement of some gears and bearings. The swing cases were rebuilt and a new method of oiling and greasing was established. All of the rotors were removed and the system gearing mechanism was rebuilt. A complete digital control system was installed making the machine a "Joy Stick" type operation. New cables and some new "Skin" were added and the old Page 337, originally manufactured back in the early nineteen-seventies, was probably better than when first manufactured. An interior paint job created the appearance of a modern day machine, almost approaching a "Star Wars" piece of equipment ready to fight the Jedi. The final stage of complete refurbishment was an outside paint job from the top of the boom to the bottom of the cab. Armstrong logo was added and the serial number 337 was painted on the cab and the top of the machine. The old machine looked new and was ready for another twenty-five plus years of digging.

The Page Model 752, serial number 337 was originally purchased by Badget Brothers Coal Company in the early nineteen-seventies and operated in the Western Kentucky Coal Fields near Madisonville until about 2006. After more than 25 years of operation, it was idled. Then along came Armstrong Mine Company. The Page Model 752s are medium size machines with a 45 Cubic Yard bucket and a 225 foot boom, but it fit the need of Armstrong Mine in their venture of a new mine in Kronos, Kentucky. Hopefully, this new mining operation would continue for twenty-five or more years, but after a little over ten years, the coal economy went downhill and by 2019, the Page 752, SN #337 was idle again.

(2.)The Marion 8800 Dragline was constructed at Peabody's Homestead Mine in 1963 and operated there until Homestead Mine was closed. It originally had a 85-yd. bucket when built. Several years after it began stripping, there was a boom failure, and decision time was at hand. Did the mine want to repair the machine, as such, or did they want to make modifications? The decision was to strengthened the boom and to re-fit it with a larger bucket. The boom was shortened and a 100 yard bucket was installed. The M 8800 was placed back in service.

After a service period of about twenty-five years at Homestead Mines, the M 8800 was running out of places to strip. There always seem to be some confusion as to where Ken Mine ended and where Homestead Mine started or vice-versa. The decision was made to close Homestead and to keep Ken open for a few more years. The M 8800 was walked to Ken Mine and was able to strip for a few more years. When Ken Mine closed, this beautiful old machine was scrapped. Such is the eventual life of any big stripper. Most are just too large for a museum, thus they are either buried or cut up for scrap metal.

The Marion 8800 was ordered in 1961 for the Peabody Homestead Mine with an 85 yard bucket and a boom length of 275 feet. After the boom failure, the boom length was shortened and the bucket size increased to 100 cubic yards. At this time, the machine was considered the largest walking dragline in the world. Then the Marion 8900 was built.

(3.)The BE-1260 Walking Dragline, manufactured by the Bucyrus-Eire Company, first manufactured in the early 1960s was a relatively small dragline, but a very popular one. Peabody Coal Company was one of the first companies to purchase this dependable machine. One of the first was built at Ken Mine to be used at River Queen and in 1962, another was built at Sinclair Mine. Peabody purchased the third one that was built for another mine. These popular machines were used from Australia to New Zealand. Like the "Energizer Bunny", they just kept on working.

The River Queen BE 1260 Dragline was built at Ken Mine, but it was never placed in operation at Ken Mine. Soon after it was completed, it was loaded on two barges and sent downriver to the River Queen Mine. I don't know if the original intent was to use the dragline at Ken or it was just easier to build it at Ken Mine and ship it downriver. The BE 1260, with a 36 yd. bucket worked the River Queen Mine for several years and then was moved to Vogue Mine. After Vogue was finished, the BE 1260 was moved back to River Queen. It was never dismantled during any of the moves, but floated on river and walked from mine to mine. The BE 1260 sat idle in a scrap pile until it was stripped and sold for junk. Such a shame.

(4.)The Bucyrus-Erie Company became very active in the middle of the twentieth century and was very much in competition with The Marion Company as well as other heavy equipment manufacturing companies. It seems that from around 1945 until 1985, Marion and Bucyrus-Erie would overtake the other for producing the largest shovel or dragline. Bucyrus built the BE-3850 in 1962 and at that time, it was the largest "Shovel" in the world. Then Marion built the M-8800 Dragline in 1963 and at the time, it was the largest dragline in the world.

In the late nineteen fifties, The Tennessee Valley Authority opted to build a large coal-fired electric generating plant in the Paradise area on Green River. This plant was to be built next to a large coal reserve. A contract was signed between TVA and Peabody Coal Company to supply coal to the plant for a period of twenty years. Then TVA proceeded to build the World's largest electric generator and Peabody proceeded to build the World's largest Power Shovel. In 1962 the World's largest power shovel was uncovering overburden in a strip pit so that the coal could be trucked to the plant and TVA was burning the coal and producing vast amounts of electricity using the World's largest generator. The largest generator and the largest shovel would soon be surpassed, but the partnership between Peabody Coal Company and The Tennessee Valley Authority would continue for almost forty years.

In this joint venture a large power shovel and a large generation plant were sharing fame and news items on local and international news outlets. The World's largest generator was producing 700 MW of power on almost a continuous basis while the "The Big Hog", a BE 3850 Power Shovel, the World's largest shovel, was working nearby on almost a continuous basis, uncovering coal to be trucked to the plant. On the sideline and working almost side-by-side of the BE 3850 Stripper was a relatively small dragline uncovering coal and re-depositing the spoil in assisting the BE-3850. This 36 cubic yard dragline worked alongside the Bucyrus Erie 3850-B shovel at Sinclair for the entire life of the mine. This BE-1260 dragline, along with the BE-1260 at River Queen Mine, built at Ken Mine and shipped to River Queen Mine, was the start of the popular BE-1260 draglines that are used world-wide. While the BE-3850 received the fame and glory, the BE-1260 became the workhorse of the mine. From about 1962 until the mid nineteen-eighties, this partnership continued between these two great machines and then the coal reserves were depleted. Now we have the Bucyrus Erie 3850-B Power Shovel with nothing to do and no where to go. The sad part of the situation was that it dug a large hole, its' last digging and then was covered with dirt. Most of the motors and such were removed before the BE-1260 covered the grave. Yes, the BE-3850, "The Big Hog" was always the star, but in the end the BE-1260 covered the grave of the BE-3850 and lived to dig another day.

From the Courier Journal a few years ago:

The Bucyrus Erie 3850-B Power Shovel named "Big Hog" went to work next door to Paradise Fossil Plant for Peabody Coal Company's ( Peabody Energy ) Sinclair Surface Mine in 1962. When it started work it was received with grand fanfare and was the Largest Shovel in The World with a bucket size of 115 cubic yards. After it finished work in the mid 1980's, it was buried in a pit on the mine's property. It remains there still today.

Much of the credit went to Peabody's giant shovel, which could strip away 200 cubic yards of overburden in a single bite.

"This shovel weighs as much as a Navy cruiser, stands 20 stories high, and can pick up 300 tons of dirt and rocks, deliver it 450 feet away, and be ready for the next cut in 50 seconds," Creason wrote.

It could have moved all the dirt in the Panama Canal in three years - "a job that required thousands of men using lesser machines nearly 20 years to complete. And that, mind you, with only one man at the controls."