Steam shovels became widely used in the 1920s in the road-building programs in North America. Shovels were used for construction, road and quarry work. ![]() As a result, steam shovels were used globally from Australia to Russia to coal mines in China. With the burgeoning open-pit mines – first in Bingham Canyon, Utah – shovels became prominent. Steam shovels assisted mining operations: the iron mines of Minnesota, the copper mines of Chile and Montana, placer mines of the Klondike – all had earth-moving equipment. The shovel crews would race to see who could move the most dirt. These machines 'moved mountains' in their labors. Of these, seventy-seven were built by Bucyrus the remainder were Marion shovels. One hundred and two steam shovels worked in the decade-long dig of the Panama Canal across the Isthmus of Panama. The booming cities in North America used shovels to dig foundations and basements for the early skyscrapers. As a result, steam shovels became commonplace.Īmerican manufacturers included the Marion Steam Shovel Company, which was founded in 1884, and Erie Shovel Company, now owned by Caterpillar. The extensive mileage of railways, and corresponding volume of material to be moved, forced the technological leap. The full-swing, 360° revolving shovel was developed in England in 1884, and became the preferred format for these machines.Ī steam shovel excavating for the San Diego and Arizona Railway line, circa 1919.Įxpanding railway networks (in the US and the UK) fostered a demand for steam shovels. Later machines were supplied with caterpillar tracks, obviating the need for rails. Originally configured with chain hoists, the advent of steel cable in the 1870s allowed for easier rigging to the winches. Steam shovels became more popular in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Temporary rail tracks were laid by workers where the shovel was expected to work, and repositioned as required. Bogies with flanged wheels were fitted, and power was taken to the wheels by a chain drive to the axles. ![]() The shovel arm and driving engines were mounted at one end of the chassis, which accounts for the limited swing. They were built on a railway chassis, on which the boiler and movement engines were mounted. The first machines were known as 'partial-swing', since the boom could not rotate through 360 degrees. The steam shovel was invented by William Otis, who received a patent for his design in 1839. In 1833 William Brunton patented another steam-powered excavator which he provided further details on in 1836. Grimshaw of Boulton & Watt devised the first steam-powered excavator in 1796.
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