Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/102855
final word | by Tom Jackson TJackson@randallreilly.com Moving Mr. Tom How does a dragline cross the road? With a lot of help from yellow iron. H aving sat unused since 1995, Mr. Tom, one of the biggest coal mine draglines in the country, had turned into a rusting hulk, seen only occasionally by a handful of dirt bike and motorcycle enthusiasts plying the backwoods trails around Brookwood, Alabama. But when Drummond Coal saw prices for Alabama's low sulfur coal rise the company decided to restore the 4,000-ton behemoth and move it 19 miles to a new mining location. The biggest challenge: crossing Highway 216, a busy two-lane thoroughfare connecting Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. In the early dawn hours of December 1, police set up roadblocks. Three big dozers began pushing stockpiled dirt into a 12-foot tall berm across the highway. Compactors and motor graders scrambled in front of the towering giant as it crept across the berm. As soon as the dragline cleared the road, the yellow iron swung back into action clearing the berm off the road and Mr. Tom lumbered on to his new location. EW Mr. Tom is a walking dragline with two sled-like feet that The earthen berm was necessary to protect the road from the move it forward about 13 feet at a time. dragline's crushing weight. The bucket holds up to 78 cubic yards. 74 January 2013 | EquipmentWorld.com As soon as the dragline cleared the highway, equipment crews hustled to take down the berm.