Big Brutus, Mining excavator in West Mineral, United States.
Big Brutus is a mining excavator in West Mineral, Kansas, that stands 49 meters (160 feet) high with a 46-meter (150-foot) boom. The bucket could move 136 metric tons (150 short tons) of material with each scoop.
The machine worked from 1963 to 1974 in the coal fields of southeastern Kansas. Pittsburgh and Midway Coal Mining Company donated it in 1984 for a museum.
The name came from a worker who called the machine after the Roman assassin of Julius Caesar. Visitors today can step into the operator's cab and see how crews controlled this enormous piece of equipment.
The visitor center sits at 6509 NW 60th Street and offers tours through the machine. You can climb to several levels and view the equipment up close.
The machine needed 150 railroad cars to reach its current site because it weighs five million kilograms. The electric drive consumed as much power as a small town with several hundred households.
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