Sundew (dragline)

Last updated
Sundew (dragline)
Sundew dragline.jpg
The dragline W1400 N2 (similar to Sundew) which operated at Corby Steelworks at the same time as Sundew prior to being scrapped.
Class overview
NameW1400 Sundew (1957-1987)
Builders Ransomes & Rapier
OperatorsFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
In service1957-1980
Planned4 [1]
Completed4 [1]
Retired4 [1]
History
United Kingdom
NameSundew
Builder Ransomes & Rapier
Launched1957
Christened1957
Commissioned1957
Fate
  • Retired in July 4, 1980
  • Scrapped in January 1987
General characteristics
Class and typeType W1400-series Dragline excavator
Tonnage1,702 t (1,675 long tons)
Length86 metres (282 ft)
Propulsion2x hydraulically driven walker feet
Speed0.1 mph or 0.16 km/h
CapacityBlade capacity: 27 long tons (27 t)
Complement5

Sundew was a large electrically powered dragline excavator used in mining operations in Rutland and Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom. It was the lead ship of a series of four Type W1400-series dragline excavators. [1]

Contents

Specifications and History

Built by Ransomes & Rapier and named after the winning horse of the 1957 Grand National, it began work in a Rutland iron ore quarry belonging to the United Steel Companies (Ore Mining Branch) that year. At the time of its construction Sundew was the largest walking dragline in the world, weighing 1,675 long tons (1,702 t). With a reach of 86 metres (282 ft) and a bucket capacity of 27 long tons (27 t) the machine was able to move a substantial amount of material in a relatively short period. [2]

Propulsion was via two large movable feet which could be used to "walk" the dragline forwards and backwards, while directional control was provided by a large circular turntable under the body of the machine.

Sundew remained until operations at the quarry ceased in 1974 and plans were then devised to relocate the machine to a recently opened British Steel Corporation quarry near Corby. At a cost of £250,000 and taking two years to complete, it was decided that dismantling, moving and reconstructing the machine was not a viable option, and so over an eight-week period in 1974 Sundew walked 13 miles (21 km) from its home in Exton Park near the village of Exton in Rutland to a site north of Corby. During the walk the dragline crossed three water mains, four water courses, thirteen power lines, ten roads, a railway line, two gas mains, seven telephone lines, 74 hedges, and the River Welland before reaching its new home.

As part of a major restructuring of British Steel in the late 1970s Corby Steelworks was closed down, and there was no longer any need for a large dragline to assist in the recovery of iron ore. On 4 July 1980 Sundew walked to its final resting place and the huge boom was lowered onto a purpose-built earth mound. There it remained for seven years until being scrapped from January to June 1987. The cab and bucket are preserved at Rutland Railway Museum which is now known as Rocks By Rail – The Living Ironstone Museum. In 2014 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded £8,100 for the restoration of the cab. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Excavator</span> Type of construction equipment

Excavators are heavy construction equipment primarily consisting of a boom, dipper, bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house" - although the largest form ever, the dragline excavator, eliminated the dipper in favor of a line and winch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragline excavator</span> Piece of heavy equipment used in civil engineering and surface mining

A dragline excavator is a heavy-duty excavator used in civil engineering and surface mining. It was invented in 1904, and presented an immediate challenge to the steam shovel (and its diesel and electric powered descendant, the power shovel. Much more efficient than even the largest of the latter, it enjoyed a heyday in extreme size for most of the 20th century, first becoming challenged by more efficient rotary excavators in the 1950s, then superseded by them on the upper end from the 1970s on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutland Railway Museum</span> Railway museum in Oakham, Rutland

Rutland Railway Museum, now trading as Rocks by Rail: The Living Ironstone Museum, is a heritage railway on part of a former Midland Railway mineral branch line. It is situated north east of Oakham, in Rutland, England.

Scaldwell is a village and civil parish in the West, Northamptonshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steam shovel</span> Steam-powered excavation machine

A steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. Steam shovels played a major role in public works in the 19th and early 20th century, being key to the construction of railroads and the Panama Canal. The development of simpler, cheaper diesel, gasoline and electric shovels caused steam shovels to fall out of favor in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finedon</span> Human settlement in England

Finedon is a town and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England, with a population at the 2021 census of 4,552. In 1086 when the Domesday Book was completed, Finedon was a large royal manor, previously held by Queen Edith, wife of Edward the Confessor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion Power Shovel Company</span> American construction and mining equipment firm

Marion Power Shovel Company was an American firm that designed, manufactured and sold steam shovels, power shovels, blast hole drills, excavators, and dragline excavators for use in the construction and mining industries. The company was a major supplier of steam shovels for the construction of the Panama Canal. The company also built the two crawler-transporters used by NASA for transporting the Saturn V rocket and later the Space Shuttle to their launch pads. The company's shovels played a major role in excavation for Hoover Dam, the Holland Tunnel and the extension of the Number 7 subway line to Main Street in Flushing, Queens.

Big Muskie Former dragline excavator

Big Muskie was a dragline excavator built by Bucyrus-Erie and owned by the Central Ohio Coal Company, weighing 13,500 short tons (12,200 t) and standing nearly 22 stories tall. It mined coal in the U.S. state of Ohio from 1969 to 1991. It was dismantled and sold for scrap in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landship</span> Large land vehicle

A landship is a large land vehicle that travels exclusively on land. Its name is meant to distinguish it from vehicles that travel through other mediums such as conventional ships, airships, and spaceships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power shovel</span> Bucket-equipped machine used for digging and loading earth

A power shovel, also known as a motor shovel, stripping shovel, front shovel, mining shovel or rope shovel, is a bucket-equipped machine usually powered by steam, diesel fuel, gasoline or electricity and used for digging and loading earth or fragmented rock and for mineral extraction. Power shovels are a type of rope/cable excavator, where the digging arm is controlled and powered by winches and steel ropes, rather than hydraulics like in the modern hydraulic excavators. Basic parts of a power shovel include the track system, cabin, cables, rack, stick, boom foot-pin, saddle block, boom, boom point sheaves and bucket. The size of bucket varies from 0.73 to 53 cubic meters.

The Hook Norton ironstone quarries (Brymbo) were ironstone quarries near Hook Norton in Oxfordshire, England. The quarries were in operation from 1899 to 1946 supplying ironstone to the Brymbo Steelworks in Wrexham and were served by the Brymbo Ironworks Railway, an extensive, 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge industrial railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exton Hall</span> English country house in Exton, Rutland, England

Exton Hall is an English country house on the western edge of the village of Exton, Rutland, England, standing in its own extensive park, and is the country seat of the Earls of Gainsborough.

Stewarts & Lloyds was a steel tube manufacturer with its headquarters in Glasgow at 41 Oswald Street. The company was created in 1903 by the amalgamation of two of the largest iron and steel makers in Britain: A. & J. Stewart & Menzies, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland; and Lloyd & Lloyd, Birmingham, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ransomes & Rapier</span> British railway equipment and crane manufacturer

Ransomes & Rapier was a major British manufacturer of railway equipment and later cranes, from 1869 to 1987. Originally an offshoot of the major engineering company Ransome's it was based at Waterside Works in Ipswich, Suffolk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashwell railway station</span> Former railway station in Rutland, England

Ashwell railway station was a station in Ashwell, Rutland on the line between Melton Mowbray and Oakham. It lies west of the village, on the road to Whissendine. Just north of Ashwell was Ashwell Junction where the Cottesmore Ironstone Branch joined. This was in use between 1883 and 1974 and served quarries in the vicinity of Cottesmore and Exton. Part of the former mineral branch line is now Rutland Railway Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P&H Mining</span>

P&H Mining Equipment sells drilling and material handling machinery under the "P&H" trademark. The firm is an operating subsidiary of Joy Global Inc. In 2017 Joy Global Inc. was acquired by Komatsu Limited of Tokyo, Japan, and is now known as Komatsu Mining Corporation and operates as a subsidiary of Komatsu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutland</span> County in England

Rutland, sometimes archaically called Rutlandshire, is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bucket chain excavator</span> Heavy equipment used in surface mining and dredging

A bucket chain excavator (BCE) is a piece of heavy equipment used in surface mining and dredging. BCEs use buckets on a revolving chain to remove large quantities of material. They are similar to bucket-wheel excavators and trenchers. Bucket chain excavators remove material from below their plane of movement, which is useful if the pit floor is unstable or underwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finedon Top Lodge Quarry</span> Quarry in Northamptonshire, England

Finedon Top Lodge Quarry, also known as Finedon Gullet is a 0.9-hectare (2.2-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site revealing a sequence of middle Jurassic limestones, sandstones and ironstones, and is the type section for a sequence of sedimentary rocks known as the 'Wellingborough Member'. It was created by quarrying for the underlying ironstone for use at Wellingborough and Corby Steelworks; the ore was transported by the 1,000 mm gauge Wellingborough Tramway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wellingborough Tramway</span> Narrow-gauge railway in the United Kingdom

The Wellingborough Tramway was an industrial narrow-gauge railway that connected a series of ironstone mines and quarries with the Midland Railway and later with the ironworks on the north side of Wellingborough. In various forms, the tramway operated between 1875 and 1966.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Corby Ironstone Quarry Memories: The Giant Walking Draglines". Rocks By Rail.
  2. Quarry; 19 March 2020
  3. "Story of quarry giant to be told" Rutland Times; 5 October 2014