This thread is going to contain information for the acquisition & restoration of the large Marion-Osgood steam shovel, which has been donated to WMSTR by a group in Battletown, KY. This shovel was found by Bill Rudicill over 25 years ago and he has been working on getting this donated to WMSTR for the past several years. Harvey Pelley, who has also been instrumental in this process, will elaborate on the historical details later on in this thread. This fall, all of the paperwork was finally completed that allowed this piece of equipment to be donated. Harvey is diligently working on finding all of the historical information of exactly when this unit was manufactured and where it was used prior to being located at Battletown.
Entrance to the quarry in Battletown, KY where the steam shovel was located.
Here is the shovel prior to disassembly for transport.
In the past 2 weeks, the disassembly process has begun. One truckload of parts has arrived, with the boiler & crowd engine being at Larson Welding, and the water tanks and other misc parts are at the showgrounds. Part of the shovel will stay in Kentucky this winter, and Bill, Harvey & crew will be working on those pieces. More to come soon.
Entrance to the quarry in Battletown, KY where the steam shovel was located.
Here is the shovel prior to disassembly for transport.
In the past 2 weeks, the disassembly process has begun. One truckload of parts has arrived, with the boiler & crowd engine being at Larson Welding, and the water tanks and other misc parts are at the showgrounds. Part of the shovel will stay in Kentucky this winter, and Bill, Harvey & crew will be working on those pieces. More to come soon.