Big Brutus, an enormous electric coal shovel that’s become a side trip for Route 66 travelers in Kansas, will be part of a 60th birthday celebration on Friday and Saturday this week.
Big Brutus is located at 6509 NW 60th St. in West Mineral, Kansas, about 30 miles from the Route 66 town of Riverton.
The Joplin Globe passed along some details about the party:
The festivities begin at noon Friday with food trucks and children’s activities. Admission is $10 for adults and free for children 12 and younger.
Live music will play from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday. There will also be food trucks, a train ride, inflatables and an appearance from 1 to 4 p.m. by K.C. Wolf, the official mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs. Pittsburg State University’s mascot, Gus Gorilla, will also be visiting. Admission is $20 for adults and free for children 12 and younger.
Big Brutus is a Bucyrus Erie model 1850B that’s the largest surviving electric shovel in the world. It stands nearly 16 stories tall and can be seen for miles. It weighs 11 million pounds. The boom measures 150 feet long. Its dipper capacity was 150 tons and was equivalent to three railroad cars.
Big Brutus cost $6.2 million when purchased, and it required 150 rail cars to be shipped in pieces for assembly in Kansas.
The shovel was retired when coal mining in the region became uneconomical. The Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Co. donated Big Brutus in 1984 to the mining museum in West Mineral.
About five years ago, Big Brutus was designated to the National Register of Historic Places.
(Image of Big Brutus in West Mineral, Kansas, by Kansas Tourism via Flickr)