1927 Bucyrus Erie Dredge

75 years old and still operating.

This large single-ended dredge was built by Bucyrus or Bucyrus-Erie in 1927,
the same year as the merger of Bucyrus with Erie to form Bucyrus-Erie,
and is still going strong after 73 years, apparently without significant modification.

It was one of two identical units built for the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company,
and has been a regular fixture on Lake Erie for most of its life.
It was recently sold to Lake Michigan Contractors,
who renumbered it, and changed the window trim color from white to yellow.

It was built with diesel-electric power, when this technology was in its infancy,
before diesel-electric locomotives had been developed beyond the prototype stage.
It has a 9 cylinder diesel in the hold, producing 600 volt DC power,
similar to an old trolley car, to operate all functions.

Rated capacity is a 10 to 12 cubic yard bucket, and weight of a single bite
of wet river bottom muck is reported as 25 tons.

The dredge is designed to be reasonably seaworthy, for moving between harbors.
To improve stability during these transits, the boom can be swung around 180 degrees,
and rested on the crutch above the cabin.
A clever design allows disconnecting the A-frame from the hull,
and supporting it from brackets atop the revolving house,
to avoid interfering with the reversal.
The circular revolving house is wood sided, apparently to reduce topweight for stability.

1927 Bucyrus Erie Dredge

75 years old and still operating.

Dunbar + Sullivan Four-Spot - steam

USCOE McCauley

www.nesys.org HCEA Index