Recovery and Restoration of a 25-Ton Bucyrus Steam Shovel

By Edwin Fiscus
Published on July 1, 1976
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This is what it looked like when we found it.
This is what it looked like when we found it.
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Boom being assembled to turntable by (left to right) Charlie Myers and Earl Pringle, president, and Jim Gifford, Sr., David Dunn and Herb Limming.
Boom being assembled to turntable by (left to right) Charlie Myers and Earl Pringle, president, and Jim Gifford, Sr., David Dunn and Herb Limming.
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Tracks and turntable being cleaned by (left to right) Jim Gifford, Jr.; Mr. Glen Hill, 90 years old and Herb Limming.
Tracks and turntable being cleaned by (left to right) Jim Gifford, Jr.; Mr. Glen Hill, 90 years old and Herb Limming.
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Preparing to load the shovel for removal to Georgetown to be restored. Don Conley, crane operator; Earl Pringle on the shovel; Stan Mack and Joe Martin on the ground.
Preparing to load the shovel for removal to Georgetown to be restored. Don Conley, crane operator; Earl Pringle on the shovel; Stan Mack and Joe Martin on the ground.
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Boom and water tank and boiler assembly to turntable. Edwin Fiscus, past president, sitting on it.
Boom and water tank and boiler assembly to turntable. Edwin Fiscus, past president, sitting on it.
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90% complete (left to right) Tom Katine, Glen Hill, Lou Brown, Earl Pringle, Stanley Mack and Richard Carmell.
90% complete (left to right) Tom Katine, Glen Hill, Lou Brown, Earl Pringle, Stanley Mack and Richard Carmell.
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Moving the shovel to the Brown County Fairgrounds (Brown County Court House in the background.) David Dunn and Edwin Fiscus on the engine; Paul Zimmerer and Lannie Redman walking.
Moving the shovel to the Brown County Fairgrounds (Brown County Court House in the background.) David Dunn and Edwin Fiscus on the engine; Paul Zimmerer and Lannie Redman walking.
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1920 Bucyrus steam shovel, 3/4-yard. — 100% complete. Courtesy of Ohio Valley Antique Machinery, Inc., Georgetown, Ohio.
1920 Bucyrus steam shovel, 3/4-yard. — 100% complete. Courtesy of Ohio Valley Antique Machinery, Inc., Georgetown, Ohio.

Editor’s note: This story was submitted by the Ohio Valley Antique Machinery, Inc. group of Georgetown, Ohio.

It was a nice brisk January day in 1974 when Joe Martin and I decided to check on the condition of a steam shovel that was located in Remington, Ohio. I had seen the steam shovel some fifteen years earlier. It may not be there now, for a lot can happen in that period of time.

As we drove up in the driveway of an old 2-story red brick house, we could see off in the distance some 500 feet what appeared to be some rusty angle iron and structural steel. The dead weeds and green honeysuckle were so thick you couldn’t be sure what it was you were looking at.

We immediately parked the car in the drive and proceeded to investigate. Finding no one home at the house, we walked in the direction of the rusty iron. When we got within 100 feet of it, our pace quickened, for sure enough it was still there, but much more deteriorated than fifteen years earlier.

The roof was gone. Some of the piping had been removed and weeds, briars and honeysuckle had grown up all around the shovel. After climbing up on it and looking it over for about half an hour, we wondered where the owner was, if it was for sale and what he would want for it.

We walked back to the old red brick house to seek information. When the lady answered the door, she told us to go up the road five more houses to see a widow by the name of Mrs. Charles Link. We drove up there, but nobody was home, so we headed back home, planning to contact Mrs. Link at a later date.

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