Big Brutus
Industrial Heritage · West Mineral, Kansas
A Bucyrus-Erie electric shovel standing sixteen storeys high in a field in south-east Kansas, where it stopped working in 1974 and was left because moving it was not worth the money. It is the largest electric shovel still in existence, it weighs around eleven million pounds, its bucket held ninety cubic yards, and it stripped overburden off coal seams for eleven years. The mining company gave it to the community rather than scrap it, and you can climb the stairs into the operator's cab.
6509 NW 60th Street, West Mineral, Kansas, 66782, United States
A modest admission at the visitor centre, covering the museum and climbing the shovel. Generally open daily with REDUCED WINTER HOURS and some closure days — it is a small volunteer-supported operation, so check before making the drive. Campground on site.