2004 Page 5
Big Brutus - West Mineral, Kansas
We camped at one of the Kansas Mine and Wildlife Reserve areas. This area is made up of several hundred strip pits that are now lakes. Even though it was cloudy, windy and rainy we had a great time
Who says camping means roughing it? Our resident camp Chef, Sir Michael McH put new meaning to camp eating. Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise sauce from scratch with herbal fried potatoes, of course Alfresco style.
Holy Smokes that was good!
The scouts put together a good menu too. Everyone was ready for Ben's pancakes
The abandoned strip pits are stocked with fish. Several tried their hand and hooking them. We also spent some time doing service by picking up trash in the area left by other campers. This area is used as a boat ramp.
Big Brutus. The name is self explanatory. This museum piece is over 7 stories tall. It is the second largest electric coal shovel in the world. It has been out of service since the late sixties. This massive metal giant needed only three men to operate it.
The following pictures give size perspective. Notice the people walking towards it.
Big Brutus has two tracks on each corner. Each pad on those tracks weighs 2008 pounds !
In the Control Operators Cabin, 4 stories high
Quite a view from an observation catwalk. Hold on to your hat, the wind was ferocious.
The Troop Scoop. This shovel could make a complete circuit in less than 60 seconds. Dig, lift, swing, dump and return. Each shovel full removed 90 cubic yards of earth. This was used to remove the top layers of soil and rock called overburden above the vein of coal. Other machines were used to harvest or mine the coal.
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