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Silver Spade from Ohio Route 9

The Silver Spade

The large stripping shovel, called THE SILVER SPADE, went into production in the fall of 1965. It was manufactured by the Bucyrus-Erie Company, South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and erected on the job site. Its sole function is to remove the earth and rock overburden from the coal seam.

Some statistics on this large machine might be of interest:

The rated capacity of the dipper is 105 cubic yards (approximately 158 tons).

The length of the boom is 200 feet.

The handle to which the dipper is attached is 122 feet in length.

The dumping radius is 195 feet. Thus, the shovel is able to pick up it load, swing around 180 degrees, and deposit the load 390 feet away from where it was picked up. This means the shovel, standing in the center of a football field, could pickup a load of material 45' beyond one goal line, swing this load around 180 degrees, and deposit it 45' beyond the other goal line.

7,200 volts of electric power is fed to the machine through 5- inch diameter, 750,000 circular mill cable, which weights 20 pounds per foot.

8 - 500 HP motors power the hoisting operation (pulling the dipper up through the overburden).

2- 375 HP motors power the crowding operation (pushing the dipper into the highwall).

4 - 500 hp motors power the swing operation (swinging the top rotating portion of the machine).

The working weight of the machine is 14,000,000 pounds (7,000).


Dipper Capacity (cu yd) 105
Boom Length 200ft
Dipper Handle Length 122ft
Dumping Radius 195ft
Maximum Dumping Height 139ft
Bail Pull (lb) 1,200,000
Total HP-Main A-C Motors 9,000
DC Generating Capacity (kw) 6,206
Hoist Motors
- Number 8
- HP (each) 500
Crowd Motors
- Number 2
- HP (each) 375
Swing Motors
- Number 4
- HP (each) 500
Working Weight (tons) 7,000
Ballast (tons) 1,700
Crawler (lb) 600,000
- Pad Weight (lb) 3,000
- Pad Width 6ft 6in
- Crawler Length 34ft
- Propel Motors (HP per truck) 2
- Propel Speed (MPH) 0.25
- Pressing lbs. per sq ft on treads Approx. 8,300
- Gear Case..1,500 Gal. per Corner, total Gal 6,000
Lower Frame
- Center to Center of Jacks 41ft
- Depth of Girders 10ft 6in
- Dia. Circle Rollers 16in
- No. of Circle Rollers 100
Jacks
- Dia. Cylinders 54in
- Length Stroke 66in
- Hydraulic Oil (gal) 4,000
Revolving Frame
- Length 85ft
- Width 64ft
- Depth 96in
Crowd
- 2 Crowd Cables 2-5/8in
- 2 Retract Cables 2-5/8in
- Length of Crowd Ropes 615ft
Hoist
- Double Drum  
Boom
- 12 Boom Support Cables (dia) 3-1/4in
Power
- Volts 7,200
- Cable Size (dia) 5in

Power Used Could Light Up a City of 15,000 Population.

Elevator Thru Center Pin.


1) Began Operations at Central November,1965
2) Speed 1/4 mile per hour
3) Weight 14,000,000 pounds 7,000 tons) more than 100 big jet airliners
4) Height 200 feet tall than a 12 story building. About the height of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
5) Bucket 105 cubic yards
6) Boom Length 200 feet
7) Height to Boom Point 220 feet
8) Height of Crawlers 8 feet
9) Length of Crawlers 34 feet
10) Maximum Dumping Height 139 feet
11) Maximum Dumping Radius 195 feet
12) Rating on A.C. Motors 13,500 Horsepower (at peak)

13) Entire operation of the shovel is controlled by two hand levers and a pair of foot pedals.

14) Digs 315,000 pounds of earth in a single bite, swings 180 degrees and deposits the load 390 feet away from the digging points at heights up to 140 feet.

15) Machine's four 2 5/8" diameter hoist ropes total 3,000 feet in length.

16) Fourteen main digging cycle motors are capable of developing a combined peak of 13,500 hp at peak load.

17) Automatically leveled through four 54-inch diameter hydraulic jacks.

18) Swings a 105-cubic yard dipper from a 200-foot boom and a 122' dipper handle.

19) The Gem of Egypt" (dismantled in 1991/92), had similar statistics concerning size and weight, etc. The primary difference is the bucket and boom. The GEM had a 130 cubic-yard bucket and 170 foot boom while the Spade sports a 105 cubic-yard bucket and 200 foot boom.


Silver Spade - Link to Larger Image

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