Coal Mine Photography??

[Lexy]

Alright, before you jump my Balls about the environmental damage this causes, I know already. But you've got to understand, it put food on my table as a kid growing up in the Western Coalfields of Kentucky. My father was a 17 year veteran of Peabody Coal Company (now known as Peabody Energy). And, I've got a little over 150 years worth of coal mining history in my family, so it was a big deal to us. It's how most everyone made their living both working and retired. Never the less, the demand for Kentucky coal is coming back and with that, I decided to capture it for the history books. Most of the coal mining left after this big push will likely be underground mining (which I have little interest in).

These are photos of two 34-ish year old Page Model 752 Walking Draglines purchased by the new Armstrong Coal Company from St. Louis, Missouri. Armstrong Coal Company has three draglines total. One is working a pit outside of Beaver Dam, Kentucky in Ohio County and they have two others that will start work soon just outside of Centertown, Kentucky and Central City, Kentucky. Both will still be on Ohio County side of the Green River with the infamous (and my home county) Muhlenberg County on the other side of the Green River.

These draglines are completely computerized now. They were gutted and rebuilt on site with computers making these machines SUPER efficient and very impressive to see!! They, the mine supervisors, can watch the draglines dig from the home computers in real-time so if a problem occurs, they can diagnose it on the spot! It's amazing to see considering how "Human" and manual these machines used to be. These two draglines will work at the company's new "Equality Surface Mine". And no. They will not remove a mountaintop here because there isn't a mountain anywhere close to here. This part of Kentucky is relatively flat and more "Midwestern" in its heritage.

All photos can be seen here on my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/perspec...7623020345264/

Here are the pictures. If you've got any questions or comments, please let me know.

Armstrong Coal Company Page 752LR Walking Dragline #37


Armstrong Coal Company Page 752LR Walking Dragline #37 "Machine House"


Armstrong Coal Company Page 752LR Walking Dragline #37 "Machine House"


Armstrong Coal Company Page 752LR Walking Dragline #37 "The Operators Cab"

^^^All digital and no foot pedals like it used to have. All movements of the machine are controlled by one man with two joysticks. That's it! The arm that you see with wires in it will be a flat, touch-screen computer that will show the operator anything they want to see anytime they want to see it about the machine. This is super high-tech for a machine like this!

Armstrong Coal Company Page 752LR Walking Dragline #37 "Computer Room"

^^^This is a custom built room inside the Machine House of the dragline and it's the "Brains" of the machine. Everything is monitored from in here. Everything.

Armstrong Coal Company Page 752 Walking Dragline
The second dragline is just slightly smaller than the 752LR.

^^In this shot, the boom had just been raised and it wasn't secured yet. Therefore it wasn't safe to walk inside it yet so this is the best I could do.

Remember, you can see ALL of the photos on my Flickr page, but I thought this would be something different. Hopefully you all will enjoy these photos I have taken of the modern day Dinosaurs!

Happy 2010 and all my best to you and your families!!!!!!!

Michael Davis

[James Bond Agent 007]

Who cares about the coal mines? It's worth it just for the pics of the cool monster machines.

[Robert Pence]

Beautiful photos; I'm fascinated by all kinds of machinery, and the bigger, the better.

Do these generate their own power on board, or are they fed by a cable from an external generating plant? Thirty or forty years ago, I saw a good-sized dragline used for mining gravel in Northeast Indiana, and it was supplied from a plant in a metal building with three big diesel generators that could have supplied a small town with electricity.

About fifteen years ago at a machinery show in Pennsylvania I saw a kid about fifteen with a detailed working scale model he had built of one of those big draglines. It had a boom about three feet long, and he had a chair rigged with two joysticks so he could sit off to the side and scoop up sand and load model trucks that were to the same scale as the dragline. He said his dad operated at a mine, and he had all the specs and technical stuff down cold.

[flar]

Kick ass. I love industrial photography, some of the most fascinating subjects you'll see out there.

[toyota74]

Thats some piece of machinery,thanks for showing it.

[Thundertubs]

That thing is a beast. Awesome.

[1ajs]

nice machene

never seen those black boxes in the controll room they vfd drives? or plc?

also i see they are using fiborotic for the data lines and theres some other stuff i have seen just can't think of what its called

(aprentice industial eletrcian)

[Lexy]

Originally Posted by Robert Pence

Beautiful photos; I'm fascinated by all kinds of machinery, and the bigger, the better.

Do these generate their own power on board, or are they fed by a cable from an external generating plant? Thirty or forty years ago, I saw a good-sized dragline used for mining gravel in Northeast Indiana, and it was supplied from a plant in a metal building with three big diesel generators that could have supplied a small town with electricity.

About fifteen years ago at a machinery show in Pennsylvania I saw a kid about fifteen with a detailed working scale model he had built of one of those big draglines. It had a boom about three feet long, and he had a chair rigged with two joysticks so he could sit off to the side and scoop up sand and load model trucks that were to the same scale as the dragline. He said his dad operated at a mine, and he had all the specs and technical stuff down cold.

Scale model building of these draglines is a BIG thing with many home-build model makers. There are some models out there that would put all of us on the floor with their detail and size! I don't doubt your story about the kid and his model at all. I know a couple of men who have models and there's one for sale right now on the internet that you can buy. Now, before you go looking for it, they don't even talk to people unless you have the full price for the scale model of the dragline. The price is $7,000 without taxes figured in.

As for the real thing and how they get power, they are hooked into the actual power grid. This isn't always the case, but right across the river from these two draglines is a Kentucky Utilities power plant called the Green River Generating Station. They are connected, through various means, to the actual power grid coming out of that power plants switchyard. They have a substation at the mine that "knocks down" the power. From there, a transformer package is on skids that can be moved. Now, this skid is attached to the substation and attached to the skid is the power "cord" that goes directly inside the dragline where it meets up with breakers and whatnot to run it. The "power cord" runs out of what's known as the "Tub" of the dragline. The "Tub" is what the dragline rest on while it's stripping the overburden. There are connections inside the tub that go up through the machine and connect to the transformers inside, which are connected to the breakers, etc.

This dragline takes full advantage of fiberoptics and wireless connectivity. It's amazing to see really!

Thanks guys!

Here's the plant these draglines are essentially "connected" to via a series of power lines and step-downs in voltage. Kentucky Utilities' Green River Generating Station in Central City, KY. This old plant is essentially putting out 240 Megawatts of electricity.


More about the "Black Boxes" and stuff can be read here at the website for that company: http://www.avtron.com/add32_dmg.htm

[1ajs]

txs for the link

intersting a dc drive i've only worked in ac so far but cool none the less

[Lexy]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

txs for the link

intersting a dc drive i've only worked in ac so far but cool none the less

My pleasure! They converted this dragline in an effort to save electricity (if I remember correctly) and save on wear and tear with the motors. There are a bunch of electric motors inside this machine and they all have to work in conjunction with eachother to achieve the same results. Thanks everyone for your kind words!

I would like to post an old picture that I have in my collection thanks to a good friend of mine, David Hope and Peabody Energy. My dad was a part of this massive move because he worked on this Power Shovel in the 17 years he worked at Peabody's River Queen Surface Mine. This is the Marion 5960-M Power Shovel, the second largest shovel in the world and it walks on its own! This is from The Peabody Magazine Winter 1979 Edition. It documents the move from one side of the mine to the other. The front page image speaks volumes about the size of this machine.

www.peabodyenergy.com/
Peabody Coal Company (River Queen Surface Mine) Marion 5960-M Power Shovel


Some information about this machine.

This machine set a number of records during it's operating life. In 1982, the 5960 set best run time, 85%, of any shovel. It moved 33,524,000 yds of overburden.

Specs for this machine are as follows:

Boom Length: 215 feet
Bucket Capacity: 125 Cubic Yards
Dipper Handle Length: 131 feet
Overall Operating Weight: 9,338 Tons
Overall Height: 200 feet
Swing Horsepower: 6,000 HP
Crowd Motor Horsepower: 2,500 HP
Hoist Motors Horsepower: 10,000 HP
Propel Motors Horsepower: 2,000 HP
Boom Angle: 45 degrees
Crawler Height: 12 feet

First year of operation: 1969 Last year of operation: 1989 (unfortunately)

I had the privileged as a young kid to actually go inside this massive shovel. Seeing how my dad worked on it, access was easy back in the 80's. But for more info, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/perspec...hy/4253271778/

[Robert Pence]

Wonderful video! It's nice, steady camera work.

One of the things I learned from the kid with the model was that the big dragline booms are welded up from tubular components and charged with pressurized inert gas. The pressure is monitored, and a drop in pressure, indicating a cracked weld or structural element sets off an alarm so that the machine can be unloaded and shut down before catastrophic failure occurs.

I recall TV news coverage quite a few years ago of the closing of a major highway in Eastern Ohio so it could be covered with a deep layer of dirt and timbers to move a giant walking dragline across.

In 1999 en route to the ferry crossing at Sistersville, WV, I stayed one night in a small campground in Southeastern Ohio on reclaimed land owned by Ohio Power. It was within sight of a working mine where a walking dragline and two D-10 Cats were working - all night. I finally got used to the sound and got a decent night's sleep. It was an amazing sight. The campground was at the edge of a bluff, where I could see coal trucks coming out of a mine road in the valley probably a mile away.

This stuff is fascinating; thanks for the photos and info. I don't have anything comparable to offer, but you might enjoy these photos of a sort of graveyard of industrial, construction, and agricultural machinery from the early 20th century.

[Lexy]

Originally Posted by Robert Pence

Wonderful video! It's nice, steady camera work.

One of the things I learned from the kid with the model was that the big dragline booms are welded up from tubular components and charged with pressurized inert gas. The pressure is monitored, and a drop in pressure, indicating a cracked weld or structural element sets off an alarm so that the machine can be unloaded and shut down before catastrophic failure occurs.

I recall TV news coverage quite a few years ago of the closing of a major highway in Eastern Ohio so it could be covered with a deep layer of dirt and timbers to move a giant walking dragline across.

In 1999 en route to the ferry crossing at Sistersville, WV, I stayed one night in a small campground in Southeastern Ohio on reclaimed land owned by Ohio Power. It was within sight of a working mine where a walking dragline and two D-10 Cats were working - all night. I finally got used to the sound and got a decent night's sleep. It was an amazing sight. The campground was at the edge of a bluff, where I could see coal trucks coming out of a mine road in the valley probably a mile away.

This stuff is fascinating; thanks for the photos and info. I don't have anything comparable to offer, but you might enjoy these photos of a sort of graveyard of industrial, construction, and agricultural machinery from the early 20th century.

Outstanding pictures!! Some of those pieces of machinery are ripe for restoration!!!

These machines used to be fairly numerous, but now one has to travel to find one working unless you are in Wyoming. They are still easy to find there in the Powder River Basin. Thank you all very much!!! Walter Bennett, who made that video, is very good at what he does. He could be making a great deal of money from it but I don't think he does.

[Lexy]

I recently got some new photos up in Southern Indiana. All from about 22 or so miles north/northeast of Evansville, Indiana. One is of a parked oddball dragline at the old Lynnville Surface Mine and the other is a working dragline at Peabody Midwest's Somerville Surface Mine (formerly Black Beauty Coal Company).

This is the Bucyrus Erie 1360W Walking Dragline with a 50 cubic yard bucket.




This is "Big Kate" at the Peabody Midwest Somerville Surface Mine outside of Buckskin, Indiana. "Big Kate" is a Bucyrus Erie 2570W Walking Dragline with a 100 cubic yard bucket. She's a large machine by all standards.




All my NEW stuff can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/perspec...7623228440342/

[Robert Pence]

[QUOTE=Lexy;4642917]Outstanding pictures!! Some of those pieces of machinery are ripe for restoration!!!

... [QUOTE]

The owner of that collection is open to selling or possibly donating to worthy individuals or organizations with the motivation and finances to undertake restoration for display and demonstration. I've heard that the chain trencher went to a historic machinery restoration group that has the engine running.

I spotted a rare and historically significant industrial steam engine that was nearly complete, so I sent photos and contact info to a historical society in the city where it was built. Those engines were gold-medal winners at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and are very rare. The historical society people expressed an interest, but I don't know if it's gone beyond that.

I've never visited the coal mines in Southern Indiana, and it looks like the draglines are worth a trip. I live in Fort Wayne, and I have a friend in Bloomington who's always up for a day trip. Sounds like it's time for a visit, come Spring.

[harryc]

Wow - never heard of a walking crane - now I know more than I did 5 min ago.
thx

[Lexy]

Originally Posted by Robert Pence

I've never visited the coal mines in Southern Indiana, and it looks like the draglines are worth a trip. I live in Fort Wayne, and I have a friend in Bloomington who's always up for a day trip. Sounds like it's time for a visit, come Spring.

It's worth it as long as you can get back there to see "Big Kate". She's the only dragline in that part of Southern Indiana that is currently running. There are more in Southcentral Indiana though. Peabody is putting together about 5 draglines that will eventually work for one major surface mine in Southern Indiana. It's name will be "Bear Run Surface Mine" and is suppose to be the largest surface mine east of the Mississippi River. It's massive!!! Later this year, there will be a BUNCH of draglines digging in that part of the state!!!

[Robert Pence]

Originally Posted by Lexy

It's worth it as long as you can get back there to see "Big Kate". She's the only dragline in that part of Southern Indiana that is currently running. There are more in Southcentral Indiana though. Peabody is putting together about 5 draglines that will eventually work for one major surface mine in Southern Indiana. It's name will be "Bear Run Surface Mine" and is suppose to be the largest surface mine east of the Mississippi River. It's massive!!! Later this year, there will be a BUNCH of draglines digging in that part of the state!!!

I've heard about Bear Run, but I didn't know it was a "go." It isn't exactly popular among some people in that part of the state.

I'd like to see it. Big machines and heavy industry have been major turn-ons for me ever since I was a little kid.

I always thought that Southern Indiana coal was higher in sulfur content than a lot of users wanted, given the past several years' tightening of emissions requirements. A place where I used to work operated a steam plant that consumed about 35,000 tons annually, and they quit buying Indiana coal in the 1980s and switched to lower-sulfur coal to reduce emission-control costs.

[Lexy]

Originally Posted by Robert Pence

I've heard about Bear Run, but I didn't know it was a "go." It isn't exactly popular among some people in that part of the state.

I'd like to see it. Big machines and heavy industry have been major turn-ons for me ever since I was a little kid.

I always thought that Southern Indiana coal was higher in sulfur content than a lot of users wanted, given the past several years' tightening of emissions requirements. A place where I used to work operated a steam plant that consumed about 35,000 tons annually, and they quit buying Indiana coal in the 1980s and switched to lower-sulfur coal to reduce emission-control costs.

You're right about the coal being "dirty" and that most producers of electricity shy away from it. BUT, this is the big but too, almost every major utility has installed Wet FGD and SCR's so burning this coal is not a problem now. Technology has finally caught up with the coal and coal from out west is not really good coal to be honest.