Monster Mining Machine

Mrs madwill and I went RSPB St Aidan’s (near Leeds) for a walk this morning. Quite a nice bright day and it was very pleasant for walking.

I am not a twitcher so the wildlife didn't hold much interest - but this monster machine grabbed my attention.

Why is there a giant machine in a nature reserve? I hear you ask… Well the site is a former opencast mine and this beast was one of two that was extracting coal when it closed.

The machine is a Bucyrus Erie 1150b Walking Dragline Extractor. So there. It began life in 1948 in Wisconsin, USA in 1948 and was moved to Britain in 1954 as part of the Lease Lend Scheme helping Britain get back her feet after the war. It worked in Wales, then Cannock and was moved to Leeds in 1974.

In 1988 the site was flooded - and this machine was out of the pits for maintenance and the other machine managed to walk itself out before being engulfed. It took 10 years to clear the site by which time this machine had deteriorated to such an extent that it never worked again. The other machine was eventually sold for scrap when the mine closed - and this one was moved up the hill to its present location and preserved.

I have added an extra shot which includes the giant arm - with some people included which gives it some scale.