Marion 5561 Shovel. (Stripper).

The picture on the right is a picture of Ken Coal Company's Marion 5561 Shovel. Ken Coal Company purchased this shovel in 1948 and it started stripping in an area behind the coal tipple. It was erected on a construction pad just to the side of the rail tipple and began stripping just east of the tipple. The construction pad area would be the start of a haul road to the Hi-View Pit area.

By now, Ken Coal Company was becoming a coal mine to be reckoned with. The small Marion 350, with a 9.5 yard bucket, was busy in the area south of the Number 19 School Road. When the Marion 5561 started stripping, it became a landmark in the area. Visitors came from miles just to view this monster machine. In 1948, the new stripper, with a 40 Yard bucket was a site to behold. The Marion 5561 would become a mainstay for Ken Coal Company and eventually Peabody Coal Company. The fate of "Strippers" is eventually doom and dismantlement. They are just too large for most museums and they wear out and are replaced. Ken's 5561 would go on to dig a lot of Western Kentucky's Overburden, but it, all too soon, was replaced by newer and bigger machines.

See you.....
jrd