Industrial History: Bucyrus-Erie (B-E) Co. Overview

(Update: there is a Bucyrus Museum in South Milwaukee, WI.)

Bucyrus was founded in Bucyrus, OH, by Daniel P. Eells in 1880. By 1898 it was producing 24 shovels per year and its #10 model was claimed to be "the largest and most powerful steam shovel ever built in this country." (So someone was building bigger shovels somewhere else in the world?) "Production innovations such as a new steel foundry, the use of special-alloy steels, and the adoption of new heat-treating techniques began to enhance Bucyrus's reputation as a manufacturer of high-quality steel excavating equipment. Significant technological advances enabled Bucyrus to introduce such innovations as the first 180-degree revolving steam shovel; the first back-acting shovel, which could dig below its own level and toward the cab; and, in 1910-11, the first Bucyrus dragline machines, the first Bucyrus tank-tread-style 'crawler' shovels and draglines, and the first Bucyrus machines powered by an internal combustion gasoline engine. By the early years of the new decade heavy-duty railroad shovels were accounting for 62 percent of Bucyrus's output, dredges 29 percent, and railroad wrecking cranes and pile drivers nine percent." [company-histories]

Bucyrus entered the small revolving steam shovel market by purchasing Vulcan Steam Shovel and building a new factory in Evansville in 1911 and by purchasing the Atlantic Equipment Co. But its small shovel sales lagged so it bought Erie Steam Shovel in 1929. Since Erie was the largest U.S. producer of small excavating machines, that purchase catapulted it to the top of the small shovel industry. In 1931, it entered the walking dragline market by purchasing Monighan Manufacturing of Chicago. The 1970s were boom years and things were looking good for their 100th anniversary in 1980. But a mature market was causing sales to decline. A leveraged buyout hurt everyone except the investment bankers, Goldman, Sacks and Co. who charged a hefty fee for executing the LBO. New foreign markets did allow it to grow itself back to health and out of bankruptcy in May 1996. [company-histories]

The Milwaukee Plant went operational in April 1893 and was bought by Caterpillar in 2011. The Evansville Plant was built in 1911 and sold in 1981 and closed in 1983.

Bucyrus-Erie made the Big Muskie, the largest dragline ever built.

Caterpillar via DeBruler

They also made the Sliver Spade.

OEMoffHighway via DeBruler

Most of the shovels that were used to dig the Panama Canal were built by Bucyrus. [company-histories]

From a video of the history of the original canal brought to you by Bucyrus.

Senior Big Machine posted

Two videos of this Bucyrus 18B restoration being tested

Luck Stone posted
Photo from our original quarry in Richmond, Va (Sunnyside Granite Company). In 1940 this Bucyrus Erie 38-B shovel was the workhorse that loaded haul trucks.
Hans Burger shared

Bobby Vangieri: Early series 38B

Sojib Ahmed posted
R.G. Watkins & Sons Inc. uses a brand new Bucyrus-Erie 22-B backhoe to excavate & install piping for a storm drainage line on const. of the Spaulding Turnpike (Rte. 16) in Rochester, NH. Watkins had 4 earth moving contracts along the line. Circa 1954. (Courtesy NERB).
Hans Burger shared

Tom Schaech: Watched one of these dig one summer —1971– in my town as they were installing sanitary sewer lines. Can still hear that Detroit humming!! Contractor was James Julian, Inc. out of Wilmington, DEL. Job site in Bel Air, MD.

Gregg Welliver commented on Hans' share
Here’s a B-E 22b doing some bridge cleanup work ( demo& bridge replacement) back in 1975-76 in my old hometown in upstate New York ( dalrymple was the contractor.

In 1944, the B-E 1150-B was "the largest dragline in the world."

From an article about the 1150-B via Anthracite Coal National Park posting

David Thomas posted
The “guts” of the machine….
David Thomas posted with the same comment

Alex Taylor: Cross section of the lot 1 2570 for Old Ben Coal - Big Kate

William Oldani posted four images with the comment:

Here's WEO's Interpretation of What the Proposed 4950-B would have Looked like if it were Built! Since Southwestern Illinois Coal Corp. had put in the Request for the Monster I chose to use Southwestern's Colors.
This Beast would have been a Real Leviathan!

Rob Schwear: You have to wonder how the undersized undercarriage supported those machines. Or what seems to be undersized.

Don Perryman: Rob Schwear the lower frame ( under carriage) is what gave more trouble on the 6360 than the rest of the machine I was told. The lower frame was massive, I can’t believe a undersized lower frame could have supported the weight and trauma of operating.

William Oldani: Don Perryman I would agree, the 60's brought forth Leviathans of Mining, and Like Muskie, 6360, 3270's and even 2570 WS, we saw a LOT of Operating Stresses that took their Tolls on the Monsters. It was More of a Show case than efficiency, they didn't last.

Keep in Mind, this wasn't driven by the Engineers as much as it was By the Owners Pride to have the Biggest!

William Oldani commented on the second photo

William Oldani posted two images with the comment: "Did a little more Tweaking on the PROPOSED BE 4950-B. Using the Captain for Reference. [This] was a Bucyrus Erie Proposal for Southwestern when the 6360 was proposed by Marion!"

James Stine: What a massive shovel that would have been! I wish I had more on the 6466 Marion 300 yd machine.

Jim Obenour: WOW, that looks extremely top heavy. [I noticed that it would have had 16 crawler tracks!]

William Oldani posted four images with the comment: "Just some Different Angles on 4850-B & 4950-B Both Prototypes with actual Machines they were Proposed For."

1850: Big Brutus I believe this is the only "biggie" that got preserved

1950: Silver Spade

3850: Big Hog, Big Paul

6360: Captain Note that this shovel was built by Marion. It was included for the size comparison.

4850: This was just proposed. The Big Hog notes have some information on this shovel.

William Oldani posted

Heres one that you won't find anywhere else! Bucyrus Erie's Proposals in the Early 60's!

Neither One was ever Built, and I'm pretty sure they didn't even make the Drafting Board!

4850-B 200 CU YRD

28,000,000 lbs

4950-B 250 CU YRD

36,000,000 lbs

Jerry Lacy: I’m thinking that the 4950 concept would have had to have been in the late 60s, after BE acquired the rights to use the knee action crowd.

William Oldani: Jerry Lacy you are Correct! Neither of these machines ever really made it to

The Drafting table! They were presented as Specification Manuals.

Nate Nowak: They would have been a maintenance nightmare.

William Oldani: Nate Nowak yes they Would!

Maria-Art Catino posted eighteen photos with the comment: "In the mid-1930s Bucyrus Erie commissioned a company to produce nine lithographed postcards of their large excavating pieces of equipment. The postcards were given out to customers as a set in a presentation envelope. Front of postcard features a particular piece of equipment manufactured by them, on the reverse is a short description of the equipment and where it is working at the time."

[Maria-Art posted all of the fronts followed by all of the backs. I changed the order so that it is easier to read the description.]

Jack Ed: Art, Some of the great “saves” I’ve got over all the years of the “Stripmine.org” are “Art Catino Posts”. Thank you! This is another fantastic find/post.

Maria-Art Catino posted eight photos with the comment: "Here’s the second set of Bucyrus Erie authorized postcards released in the late 1930s promoting their smallest shovel available the Model 10-B. This was quite a popular machine in its day. Company records show that 10,053 units were built worldwide between 1934 to 1959."

Jason Schurtz posted 15 images with the comment: "I was finally able to scan the old BE Walking Dragline pamphlet. Huge thanks to Dave Hopper for loaning me his copy."