Pictured here, in November of 1958, is a Bucyrus-Erie 200W walking dragline that is stripping overburden at the Canada Cement Company plant near Ingersoll, Ontario.
This electric-powered walking dragline was assembled on-site in 1956 and was equipped with a 4.6 cubic-metre (6 cubic-yard) bucket and a 38.1-metre (125-foot) boom.
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This machine was used to remove hard overburden from high quality limestone that was, in turn, used to make cement. The dragline loaded a fleet of Euclid 30 tonne rear dump haulers and another Bucyrus-Erie electric crawler shovel loaded the blasted limestone in the quarry to be crushed for processing.
As early as 1910, Bucyrus had been manufacturing medium to large-sized draglines for surface mining operations. Manufacturers such as Monighan Machine Co. and Page Engineering Ltd., both based in Chicago, were rivals of Bucyrus at this time.
In the 1930s, Bucyrus took over the Monighan Company to access its dragline walking system that was superior to crawler, rail and roller setups.
1946 saw the first Bucyrus-Erie 200W dragline in operation. Some 55 units were built, including this Canada Cement walking dragline. Bucyrus-Erie built smaller cable shovels, cranes and backhoes in its Guelph, Ontario factory.
When the cement company decided to strip overburden with scrapers and dozers—equipped with rippers—the B-E 200W was sold, dismantled and shipped to an open-pit coal mine operation in St. Clairsville, Ohio in the late 1970s.
Several Ontario earthmoving contractors tried their hand at removing the overburden, but lasted only a season or two due to the abrasiveness of the material.
Next, contractors with large excavators and articulated rear dumps came to adjacent quarries, faring somewhat better.
HCEA Canada’s “Wheels & Tracks in Motion” event is being held on Saturday, June 11th and Sunday, June 12th at the Simcoe County Museum near Barrie, Ontario.
Also, in October, HCEA Canada will be holding its “Last Blast” event, which will also be held at the Simcoe County Museum, of which HCEA is a proud Heritage Partner.
Please check the website for updates: www.hceacanada.org.
