Big Brutus

United States of America

Big Brutus is the nickname of the Bucyrus-Erie model 1850-B electric power shovel, which was the second largest of its type in operation in the 1960s and 1970s. Big Brutus is the centerpiece of a mining museum in West Mineral, Kansas, United States, where it was used in coal strip mining operations.

The shovel was designed to dig from 20 to 69 feet (6.1 to 21.0 m) down to unearth relatively shallow coal seams, which would then be mined with smaller equipment.

Listen to the audio guide for Big Brutus Free on WIP — starts by itself when you arrive, even with the screen off