Dragline Working at Luminant Lignite Mine - Kosse, Texas

Thanks for all the love! Here’s some closer shots: https://youtu.be/EZm_ZFGu5QU

After my daddy retired I used to take him on trips with me. He operated equipment all his life. Most of the equipment he operated was older equipment. When we would come across a highway or any big civil construction job he asked me to pull up out the way and watch the machines work. One day in Mississippi the had some brand new cat road graders working. One of the construction guys came by and ask if we enjoyed watching. After talking to daddy he offered daddy to come drive one of the new graders. Once daddy got on it he didn’t want to get off. The guy from the construction company sat down with my and said your dad really knows how to operate that machine. His grader was made in the 60s with no hydraulics and no AC . After he finally got down he said how much he enjoyed that experience driving a new machine. He talked about that experience for the rest of his life. I am so glad he got to operate that machine. He passed in 2011 and I put a model of the machine he drowse in his casket.. R.I.P. Pops

And she's still mining strong today. This is where I'm employed.

You watch one recommended dragline video and suddenly that’s all Youtube thinks you like!

This may be one of the best dragline observation videos ever made. It shows the majestic power and grace of these behemoths ... BRAVO!

Manyyears ago in the mid 80s, I ws driving through Texas and noticed a huge walking dragline working. I parked my car and sat down on a portable barricade about 200 ft away, just watching. After a few minutes, I saw a guy in a hard hat start wlking toward me. I thought I was abouit to get a warning to leave the area. Instead, the man approached me and he had a second hardhat in his hand. He asked me if I would loike to take a close look and go inside. I could not say "oh YEA!" fast enough. We entered the first level by climibing onto the walking foot on the right side. We walked across a steel mesh bridge that was over the two main bucket drag line cables (about 3 inches in diameter). To a young man who loves all kinds of engineering, I was absolutely stunned by the size and power this michine possessed. We walked to the control cab where I was introduced to the operator. talk about comfort! nicely padded chair with a great AC system to keep the compartment very comfortable, and even had a stereo going with some great tunes. I thought they might even let me operatre it for a little bit but the manager said he would have, but his supervisor was on-site right then. That was OK, I was thrilled just being inside. When I read about these incredible machimes like Big Muskie being scrapped, it breaks my heart. These machines shound be left as operational museums so those of us who understand and appreciate their industrial majesty can experience them and educate the young ones about our technical prowess.

machinery built on a geological scale, even looks like it's moving slow motion. unbelievable. thanks for capturing this.

The Dragline being showen in the Video is a Marion 8750 Walking Dragline and is electric Powered from a Substation and can only be operated from the left side of the Dragline and carry up to a bucket size of 169 Cubic yards and with a Boom size of 435 Ft long and weighing in at 8,350 Ton and was made Built and Designed to remove overburden from a Coal pit after being dinamighted so the Coal Vain can be Mined and taken to a Coal tipple preperation plant and either be Trucked out and or be shipped out on Rail

Great video. Thank you. It not only shows that majestic machine working, and working well, it shows, in the panorama, the logistics and order of the process of uncovering the coal seam, history and future. Imagine the operator's job; he sits 2 or 3 stories off the ground the machine sits on, and then is possibly 200 more feet above the floor of the cut, looking into it and digging it. I wanted to add that this is a great looking and surely well cared for machine. It is large, also, considering that it makes the fairly large loader, parked next to it, look like a toy.

My father has been a drag line operator for 35 years in Montana. I don't think people realize just how big these machine are when you are next to them.

She's a real looker with that fancy paint job!

This is by far the best dragline video I've seen, well done whoever made this,

Here in New Zealand we don't have draglines anywhere near that big, and i've never operated one. But I've always been fascinated by them, and there's just something so majestic about how they move.

This is actually quite beautiful to watch. I'm a total tractor guy, have been since I was a kid. I might not know all the specs and fancy lingo, but I do know when I see something majestic. The power, the efficiency, the purpose driven life of a machine. Thank you so much for this video. This made me feel much smaller, not less important, just in awe like I was a kid again. Sometimes that's all we need. 🤗

Damn, those 992s look like toys. I worked at Martin Lake for a few months and drove by these monsters every day. Nice video.

Glad Y'all didn't make the video any longer, lol. Loved It! Been operating cranes for 40 years and this looks like the best of that world!

Superb video- entrancing. Thank you for the incredible images and audio track!

This brings tears to my eyes because the dragline looks almost like Big Muskie the one that was cut up back in 1999 glad to see it's sort of little brother is still going strong has anyone asked for this thing to be saved by chance when it's retired? Because I hope it gets preserved I really hope it is preserved

My son works for luminance as the engineer over maintenance here in losses very proud of him

Excelent video. The best seen to allow a good understanding on how a walking dragline works.