Pictures of the Week 2010-2
Hello All,
For a few months following Barb’s hip replacement surgery we stuck pretty close to the home front. During this time she worked diligently at her recovery. Her doctor on many occasions expressed how proud he was of her attitude towards recovery and how hard she worked at rehabilitation. She is what he called an “ideal patient.” By May she was back to about 90% of her old self and we were anxious to get out of the house and do some traveling.
In mid May Dave’s cousin Billie flew in to visit us for a couple of weeks. We had previously discussed making a roadtrip to Kansas with her as this is where both she and Dave spent their early childhood years. Rather than starting a roadtrip as soon as she stepped off the airplane we decided to show her the local sites for a few days prior to the trip.
Our first stop was the beautiful campus of the University of North Alabama here in Florence.
For a few months following Barb’s hip replacement surgery we stuck pretty close to the home front. During this time she worked diligently at her recovery. Her doctor on many occasions expressed how proud he was of her attitude towards recovery and how hard she worked at rehabilitation. She is what he called an “ideal patient.” By May she was back to about 90% of her old self and we were anxious to get out of the house and do some traveling.
In mid May Dave’s cousin Billie flew in to visit us for a couple of weeks. We had previously discussed making a roadtrip to Kansas with her as this is where both she and Dave spent their early childhood years. Rather than starting a roadtrip as soon as she stepped off the airplane we decided to show her the local sites for a few days prior to the trip.
Our first stop was the beautiful campus of the University of North Alabama here in Florence.
Then we visited Ivy Green, the birthplace of
Helen Keller across the river in Tuscumbia, Alabama.
Billie and Barb enjoyed touring the Frank Lloyd
Wright - Rosenbaum House in Florence.
During this time of year the
wild Honeysuckle was in bloom everywhere. It produced a sweet fragrance that
blew with the wind.
And the Magnolia Trees were in
full bloom with their huge white blossoms the size of dinner plates.
After a few days in the local
area we hit the road for Kansas. Our route took us through western Tennessee
and then across the state of Missouri.
We made a pit stop at a wayside in the little town of Mountain View, MO
where we came across a most unusual little cabin. Not sure what it was supposed
to represent, nor could we find out anything about it. We found it worthy of a
few photos as there wasn’t a straight wall to be found anywhere on the
building!
While visiting family and
friends in southeast Kansas we made our base of operations at a motel in the
border town of Lamar, MO. Do you know what claim to fame Lamar, MO has? We’re
sure you all know the answer, but just in case you need your memory refreshed
it is the birthplace of Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the
United States. In the photo below is the little house where he was born. Here
is another bit of trivia for you. The Truman home was once owned by relatives
of another noted American--Wyatt Earp.
Wyatt started his career as Lamar’s first constable in 1870.
During our visit with family
and friends we had a wonderful time. It had been a number of years since we
were last in the area. We enjoyed seeing the old farm where Dave was born and
seeing the grocery store his dad built some sixty plus years ago.
Southeast Kansas was a big “strip pit” coal producing area in our country. Huge shovels stripped overburden (dirt and rocks) off seams of coal in the area. The shovels did not dig coal. After stripping the overburden crews using coal “strippers” and 120-ton trucks then removed the exposed coal seams. Dave’s grandfather was an operator on one of the giant shovels for over fifty years. He worked the 4pm to midnight shift, seven days a week. One of the highlights of our trip was being able to tour one of these massive old shovels.
“Big Brutus” at the Big Brutus Museum in West Mineral, KS, is something to behold. Miles before reaching this retired giant you can see it on the horizon. When built in 1962 Big Brutus was the second largest electric shovel in the world. In its lifetime it afforded recovery of 9 million tons of bituminous coal from depths of 20 to 50 feet. Standing 160 feet high, weighing 5,500 tons, and moving at speeds up to 2/10 of a mile per hour the machine stripped about a square mile of earth per year. The bucket scooped out 90 cubic yards (or 135 tons) of earth with each bite. By heaping the bucket it could hold 150 tons--enough to fill three railroad cars.
To help with perspective of the photo below, Barb and Billie are standing beside one of the four crawlers on the shovel. Each of the crawlers was driven by a 300-horsepower electric motor. The crawlers were used to propel the machine at a turtle’s pace.
Southeast Kansas was a big “strip pit” coal producing area in our country. Huge shovels stripped overburden (dirt and rocks) off seams of coal in the area. The shovels did not dig coal. After stripping the overburden crews using coal “strippers” and 120-ton trucks then removed the exposed coal seams. Dave’s grandfather was an operator on one of the giant shovels for over fifty years. He worked the 4pm to midnight shift, seven days a week. One of the highlights of our trip was being able to tour one of these massive old shovels.
“Big Brutus” at the Big Brutus Museum in West Mineral, KS, is something to behold. Miles before reaching this retired giant you can see it on the horizon. When built in 1962 Big Brutus was the second largest electric shovel in the world. In its lifetime it afforded recovery of 9 million tons of bituminous coal from depths of 20 to 50 feet. Standing 160 feet high, weighing 5,500 tons, and moving at speeds up to 2/10 of a mile per hour the machine stripped about a square mile of earth per year. The bucket scooped out 90 cubic yards (or 135 tons) of earth with each bite. By heaping the bucket it could hold 150 tons--enough to fill three railroad cars.
To help with perspective of the photo below, Barb and Billie are standing beside one of the four crawlers on the shovel. Each of the crawlers was driven by a 300-horsepower electric motor. The crawlers were used to propel the machine at a turtle’s pace.
Each individual link on the crawler track weighs
2008 pounds and there was 2,200 gallons of oil in each gear box. Steering was
accomplished via steering arms which were hydraulically driven and controlled
by the machine’s ground man. The crawlers could be raised or lowered up to 5 ½
feet independent of each other so the machine could be kept level. These hydraulic jacks were 42 inches in
diameter.
Here is a shot of Miss Barb in
the humongous bucket of Big Brutus. It is easy to see how a Caterpillar D9
dozer can back into the bucket.
The main hoist was operated by
eight 500-hp DC motors, having 800 feet of wire rope on each side of its drum.
The cable was 3 inches in diameter and weighed 25 pounds per foot.
On the rear of the Big Brutus
were ballast tanks, which contained 1.7 million pounds of ballast which
countered the boom and bucket weight.
Inside the machine, 2 massive 3,500-hp electric motors ran 13 DC generators. Each generator ran one of 13 DC motors. Each of the 3 swing gears was operated by a 750-hp DC electric motor.
Big Brutus was operated by 3 men--the operator who dug the overburden and controlled the swing of the machine, the ground man who moved the machine forward or backward at the command of the operator, and the oiler who was constantly oiling and greasing every moving part of the machine. This photo is where the operator sat.
Inside the machine, 2 massive 3,500-hp electric motors ran 13 DC generators. Each generator ran one of 13 DC motors. Each of the 3 swing gears was operated by a 750-hp DC electric motor.
Big Brutus was operated by 3 men--the operator who dug the overburden and controlled the swing of the machine, the ground man who moved the machine forward or backward at the command of the operator, and the oiler who was constantly oiling and greasing every moving part of the machine. This photo is where the operator sat.
Also, within the museum was a fantastically
restored old Chevrolet convertible. It appeared to be a 1928 Chevrolet
International Sport Cabriolet. It was a beauty.
To say Big Brutus is an
awesome machine would be an under-statement! On July 13, 1985, it was dedicated
as a museum and memorial to the miners and rich coal mining history in
Southeast Kansas. We would highly recommend it as a place to put on your
“bucket list” (no pun intended).
We’ll talk about our return trip from Kansas in our next Pictures of the Week.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
We’ll talk about our return trip from Kansas in our next Pictures of the Week.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns